EASTON, Md. — SS. Peter and Paul’s girls basketball team took care of visiting Gunston on Feb. 10 with little resistance, but that was not the big story in Easton.
That occurred minutes into the first quarter when senior Avery McCall (SS. Peter and Paul Parish) made her first basket of the evening. That put her at 1,000 points for her career with the Sabres, and she gleefully accepted hugs from her teammates before returning to sink the free throw that resulted from the play. That gave SS. Peter and Paul a 9-2 lead on the way to a 47-10 win.
The visiting Herons scored the first field goal of the evening on a shot by Emma Walker, but everything else went the Sabres’ way. Louise Rankin tied the game, and Kaylin Palmer stole a Gunston inbounds pass and went the distance for a layup to put the hosts in front. Rankin scored once more before McCall’s big moment.
McCall inbounded the ball on the Sabres’ offensive baseline, and the players worked the ball around the perimeter. McCall took one shot that hit the back rim, then set herself up about 10 feet from the hoop. She took a pass from Emma Hainey, turned around in traffic and knocked down an eight-footer, getting fouled in the process.
The Sabres kept the Herons away from the basket with good defense, and when Gunston did get a shot, they were limited to one. SS. Peter and Paul pounded the ball inside offensively all evening, resulting in a number of layups and short field goals. Hainey hit a shot midway through the second quarter to make it 17-2 before the Herons scored, ending a 17-0 run for the home team.
Hainey finished with 14 points for SS. Peter and Paul, while Palmer and McCall — who will play lacrosse at Temple University — each had 10. The Sabres (12-4) will host Salisbury School on Wednesday at 4 p.m. for their senior game. They travel to Easton on Friday afternoon before playing in the ESIAC tournament.
Photos by Mike Lang.
