By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Kevan Sheppard didn’t need a fiery halftime speech.
The 18th-year coach simply reminded his Bishop Kearney girls’ basketball team of what they needed to do in order to pull out a win.
Consider the message well-received.
Kearney (No. 5 NYSSWA Class AA) scored the first nine points of the third quarter to take a lead on the way to a 64-59 win over host Our Lady of Mercy (No. 3 NYSSWA Class A) in Private-Parochial League action, Monday night.
“First half, effort-wise, we just didn’t have it,” Sheppard said. “Defensively, we weren’t playing hard enough. We were losing on the backboard. We were getting outrebounded. They (Mercy) were playing harder, and the scoreboard reflected that.”
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Trailing 30-25 heading into the break, BK held Mercy without a basket for five-plus minutes to start the third quarter.
“We were able to make the adjustments at halftime,” Sheppard said.
Senior guards Asia Wilson and Klarissa Goode were at the front of a defense that forced seven turnovers on the first 12 possessions of the third quarter.
“We want to apply that pressure from the beginning of the game,” Sheppard said. “Sometimes, it’s hard to do that. We still got a whole lot of new people on the team. We’re still trying to work the chemistry out.”
Leah Dukes converted a steal into a layup for a 31-30 Kearney lead. The Kings did not trail again.
Wilson fed Goode for a layup of her own, and Dukes converted 1-of-2 from the free throw line for a 34-30 lead.
Laura Kosten’s rebound and putback tied the score for Mercy at 34. Robin Jones also grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to make it a 40-38 game early in the fourth quarter.
“The girls played hard,” said Mercy head coach Tom McDonough. “They always do. That was a good test for us.”
Mercy (6-3) had won six straight heading into Monday’s matchup. The Monarchs were coming off handing Eastridge (No. 7 NYSSWA Class A) its first loss of the season in the championship of the Great Livonia Shootout.
“We came out in the third and we just took a couple quick shots that we normally don’t take,” McDonough said. “They turned the pressure up a little bit and that kinda changed the game. Other than that, we stuck to the game plan.”
Adrianna Kennedy hit threes on three straight trips down the floor to give Kearney (9-1) a 54-44 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game.
“That’s one of the better teams,” McDonough said of Kearney. “Nobody thought we would have a chance against them.”
Mercy’s Mia Lusardi connected on a 3-pointer with 10.2 remaining to make it a 62-59 game.
Goode, the daughter of former Kearney boys’ coach Kevin, led four in double figures with 16 points including the 1,000th of her career.
A six-year player on varsity, Goode had to be patient and wait her chance on several of the past BK squads that consisted of current college performers.
“Eventually, she was going to get that, but that’s a lot of effort and hard work to get there,” Sheppard said of Goode. “When you look at who she shared our bench with to score those thousand points, it tends to mean more. Those are a hard thousand points.”
The youngest of three, Goode joins her sister Kaia (currently a junior guard at SUNY Binghamton) who also eclipsed 1,000 points in her high school career. Kevin Goode (known as K2) recently scored the 1,000th point of his college career.
Dukes and Wilson added 15 points apiece. Kennedy had 11.
Mercy’s Kosten matched Goode for game-high honors with 16. Emerson Wandtke had 15 points. Lusardi scored 13.
Leah Dukes tests the range early, gives @BKHS_Sports GBB a 15-11 lead. pic.twitter.com/vvg6ichSAW
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 7, 2025
Krista Harnischfeger connects from distance to start the second quarter scoring, but Mercy trails Kearney 18-16. pic.twitter.com/CnrmNMqabo
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 7, 2025
Claire Spears hits a catch-and-shoot 3 to pull @BKHS_Sports GBB within 1 early in the third. pic.twitter.com/lA1Lg8BLE0
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 7, 2025
Mia Lusardi snaps a 9-0 Kearney run to start the third quarter. pic.twitter.com/2YfmkBLItL
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 7, 2025
BISHOP KEARNEY
Asia Wilson 4 5-5 15, Klarissa Goode 4 7-11 16 Adrianna Kennedy 4 0-2 11, Leah Dukes 6 2-4 15, Clair Spears 3 0-0 7, Madison Simmons 0 0-0 0, Isabella Brookins 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 21 14-22 — 64
OUR LADY OF MERCY
Krista Harnischfeger 3 0-2 7, Mia Lusardi 5 0-0 13, Allison Barone 1 0-0 3, Robin Jones 2 1-2 5, Angelina Borrelli 0 0-0 0, Laura Kosten 7 0-2 16, Emerson Wandtke 6 3-4 15 TOTALS 23 4-10 — 59
BISHOP KEARNEY 18 7 15 24 — 64
OUR LADY OF MERCY 13 17 6 23 — 59
3-point goals: BISHOP KEARNEY 8 (Wilson 2, Goode 1, Kennedy 3, Dukes 1, Spears 1); OUR LADY OF MERCY 7 (Harnischfeger 1, Lusardi 3, Barone 1, Kosten 2).
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