The first period of fifth-seeded Bishop Kearney’s Brooklyn/Queens Catholic High School Athletic Association (BQCHSAA) Class A quarterfinal matchup versus No. 4 St. Joe set the tone for the rest of the game, as the Tigers struggled to mount an offense while turning the ball over often.
As result, Bishop Kearney fell behind 10-4, and failed to surmount the unpleasant hole it dug itself into the rest of the tilt, as it fell, 56-39, to the Cougars Monday night at home, unceremoniously ending its season.
Tigers head coach Rocco Sellitto summed up his team’s woes to what has sabotaged their efforts for a good portion of the campaign.
“It’s the same stuff: turnovers, bad shots, missed lay-ups…in a nutshell,” Sellitto said. “We made adjustments, tried different actions. We even changed our offense, but we didn’t execute.”
The second quarter produced pretty much of the same results, if not more, as Bishop Kearney trailed St. Joe, 25-15, going into the locker room.
But the Tigers did show a measure of gumption, as they narrowed the gap to seven points (36-29) after senior point guard Casey O’Shaughnessey sank two free throws with 01.9 seconds left in the third period.
Junior Bridget Rose sliced the deficit to 36-42 midway through the fourth quarter. But that’s as close as Bishop Kearney would get, as the Cougars went on a 14-3 run the rest of the way to shut the door on the Tigers’ season.
St. Joe held high-scoring O’Shaughnessy to 12 points, as coach Mike Toro keyed on her with double teams almost every time she touched the rock. But he said his players were ready to thwart anyone on Bishop Kearney from scoring.
“This is the playoffs, so we respected her game,” Toro said. “And we got to go forward. We have to try to stop anybody. It’s not about one player. We want to win. That’s all I can say.”
Rose drained 12 points, while senior Kathleen Egan chipped in with 11 for the Tigers.
The Cougars will face top-seeded Monsignor McClancy in the semifinals at St. John’s Prep in Astoria, Queens. Wednesday at 6:45 p.m.
— Jerry Del Priore
Brooklyn Sports World/NY NJ Sports World 