By PAUL GOTHAM
MENDON, N.Y. — Four players scored in double figures, and No. 6 Bishop Kearney clinched a spot in the Section V Class AA Girls’ Basketball semifinals with a convincing 57-29 victory over No. 3 Pittsford Mendon, Friday.
Trailing 11-5 in the early going, Kevan Sheppard’s squad came out of a timeout and scored the final seven points of the first quarter as part of an overall 16-4 run to take a lead it did not surrender.
“You can’t take anything for granted,” the BK coach said. “This is sectionals. You can’t afford to start slow. Every game you play, the next opponent is going to be better.”
Adrianna Kennedy buried a corner three. Klarissa Goode followed with a bucket, and Allie Hall converted a putback for a 12-11 lead after eight minutes of play.
Allie Hall converts a rebound and putback. Kearney closes the first on a 7-0 run to take a 12-11 lead over Mendon. Class A @SecVGBasketball pic.twitter.com/mh06Cigm6f
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 23, 2024
“You’re not always going to be able to overcome a slow start as these teams get better and better,” Sheppard said. “We knew we had to make a change. We had to fix it right then.”
Kearney led 26-18 at halftime, and took its first double-digit lead of the game on the opening possession of the third quarter when Tallan McCullough found Kennedy cutting through the lane for a layup.
Next trip down the floor, Kennedy connected from distance for a 31-20 advantage. Kearney did not allow Mendon within single digits for the remainder of the contest.
“You really got to be on your A-game whenever you play Mendon,” Sheppard said. “Any time you’re going up against (Mendon head coach) Todd Julien, he knows everything you do and what you want to do. He’s going to counter and be waiting for every pass you’re ready to make.”
Kennedy finished with a game-high 16 points. Hall added 15. Goode scored 10.
Asia Wilson added 11 points while running the point for Kearney.
Asia Wilson connects from distance at the halftime horn to give Kearney a 26-18 lead at halftime. Class A @SecVGBasketball pic.twitter.com/sVMOfVghlM
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 23, 2024
“The more games that we play locally, the more people are starting to realize how good Asia is,” Sheppard said. “She’s drawing the most attention from the other team on the defensive end.
“She’s realizing that if they’re going to double and triple-team me then I got to be more of a facilitator. She could score against that, but she understands that if I can get other people on the team going, it’s going to be easier for me as the game progresses. She was able to do that by getting Adrianna Kennedy going. Allie (Hall) was huge today.”
Kate Crowley accounted for 12 points to lead Mendon (16-5) which was without leading scorer Natalie Mai due to an injury. Mai averaged 16 points per game during the regular season.
Kearney (14-6) will face No. 2 Hilton in the semifinals.
Tallan McCullough finds Adrianna Kennedy slashing through the lane to start the third-quarter scoring. @SecVGBasketball pic.twitter.com/qUpsjNSZYw
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 23, 2024
BISHOP KEARNEY
Allie Hall 7 1-7 15, Klarissa Goode 5 0-2 10, Asia Wilson 4 1-1 11, Madison Simmons 0 0-0 0, Tallan McCullough 1 0-0 3, Riley Bordeau 1 0-0 2, Adrianna Kennedy 6 0-0 16 TOTALS 24 2-10 — 55
PITTSFORD MENDON
Dani Mooney 1 0-0 3, Sarah Hanfland 3 0-0 6, Cate Rathnam 0 0-0 0, Gabby Esposito 1 1-2 3, Kate Crowley 5 1-3 12, Eva Dixon 2 1-2 5, Nora Graff 0 0-0 0, Leena Mobeen 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 12 3-7 — 29
BISHOP KEARNEY 12 14 14 17 — 57
PITTSFORD MENDON 11 7 5 6 — 29
3-point goals: BISHOP KEARNEY 7 (Wilson 2, McCullough 1, Kennedy 4); PITTSFORD MENDON 2 (Mooney 1, Crowley 1).
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