By BILLY HEYEN
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Twice with less than two minutes to play, Gates Chili pulled within one score. Both times, Marianna Freeman had the answer for Bishop Kearney.
First, Freeman nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. Then, after a Spartans bucket, Freeman drove left and finished. She refused to lose the first game of her senior season.
“(Marianna) stayed aggressive offensively,” Bishop Kearney head coach Kevan Sheppard said. “… I was really happy with the guards’ effort.”
This @MariannaFreem12 bucket gives her 22 and puts @BKHS_Sports up 77-73 with 1:19 to play. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/H7oRbyRN1P
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) February 13, 2021
Behind a strong backcourt performance from Freeman (24 points) and Kaia Goode (22), Bishop Kearney (1-0) won 84-78 in its season opener against Gates Chili (1-2) on Saturday afternoon. Taylor Norris added 19 for BK, which overcame the absence of Saniaa Wilson (hip injury) and a 29-point, 23-rebound double-double from Gates Chili’s Miriam Ibezim.
“Really we’re just trying to catch up, trying to get back to it, and just trying to win,” Sheppard said.
The shortened 2021 season for Bishop Kearney shaped up to showcase four senior starters who’d won the last three Class AA sectional titles: Six-year players Freeman, Camille Wright and Wilson, along with four-year forward Norris. But at least to start the year, Wilson is out.
She injured her hip with a hard fall while preparing for the season. The Seton Hall commit is unsure of when she’ll take the court again, saying she’s not able to put much weight on her hip yet.
Instead of filling up the scorebook with her play on the court Saturday, Wilson was literally keeping Kearney’s scorebook.
“It’s gotta be a team effort,” Sheppard said. “You don’t replace Saniaa with one person.”
Wilson’s absence meant that even more than usual, the onus would fall on Bishop Kearney’s high-powered backcourt of Freeman and Goode to take care of business. They worked the front of BK’s full-court pressure, which was in place for almost the entirety of Saturday’s game. They took the most 3-point attempts for Kearney, too, while also leading in assists (seven for Freeman and six for Goode on Saturday).
Goode scored the game’s first bucket, immediately off the jump ball, and then Freeman scored seven quick points. Throughout the game, they worked to set each other up in addition to their other teammates, striking the balance Kearney needed.
“It’s a relationship thing,” Goode said of the BK backcourt duo. “We’re really close. We know how each other plays, so we know how to get each other open.”
TOUGH shot from @KaiaGoode . @BKHS_Sports @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/mNZP1j09o7
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) February 13, 2021
Ibezim and Paris Anthony (21 points) wouldn’t let Kearney pull away, though. When Anthony broke the BK press, she either finished at the hoop or had Ibezim cleaning up the second chances.
Terah Echols pitched in, too, with 17 points from intermediate areas of the court for the Spartans.
“Gates is good,” Sheppard said. “Gates is huge. The post presence and the rebounding was what we knew we’d have to overcome coming into this game.”
The final bucket of the first half is @IbezimMiriam again — she’s got 14 points and 13 rebounds. @GCSDSpartans leading @BKHS_Sports, 35-34, at the break. @PickinSplinters @lspartanshoops pic.twitter.com/PsxeTS2Hbm
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) February 13, 2021
Gates Chili and Bishop Kearney went back and forth the whole second half, with the Spartans leading by a point at the break before expanding the lead to two possessions with 3s from Echols and Anthony.
But then Norris scored a quick four of her 13 second-half points, Freeman nailed a stepback 3 and Goode hit a triple while being knocked to the ground, and BK wouldn’t trail again. Two and-1s from Goode added a bit of cushion that couldn’t be fully made up by the Spartans.
“Kaia was huge today,” Sheppard said. “… Every small play that needed to be made, she makes.”
All the tricks coming out for @KaiaGoode — and 1 gives her 14 on the day. @PickinSplinters @BKHS_Sports pic.twitter.com/AymSqDGFnk
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) February 13, 2021
When Wilson joined her teammates after the game, she told them honestly that they could’ve lost Saturday. Ibezim took full advantage of the absence of a counterpart Division I center to compete with.
But when the final buzzer sounded, Bishop Kearney held the edge anyway. Freeman and Goode had ensured there wouldn’t be a season-opening letdown. BK proved it could win without Wilson and learned some lessons in the process.
“If we lost, it would’ve kind of slowed things down,” Goode said. “That win gave us the extra boost to work harder.”
Scoring totals
Bishop Kearney: Marianna Freeman (24), Kaia Goode (22), Taylor Norris (19), Camille Wright (7), Amaia Jackson (6), Caydence Hadley (6)
Gates Chili: Miriam Ibezim (29), Paris Anthony (21), Terah Echols (17), Kenzie Clifton (6), Maylee Kerns (3), Rebekah Pye (2)
Leave a Reply