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MALVERN >> Like any program that has had success over a prolonged period of time, the Villa Maria Academy basketball team rarely rebuilds, they just reload.
Even after suffering significant graduation losses from a team that made it to the District 1 5A championship last year, the Hurricanes have regrouped and showed they will be a major danger come postseaon time.
They continued on the road to another AACA title Thursday evening, despite a couple of blips, Villa used 17 points from Carly Catania and 11 from Sophia Tray to build a big halftime lead en route to a comfortable 57-24 victory over Merion Mercy.
The Hurricanes improved to 4-0 in the AACA, 9-4 overall. Coach Kathy McCartney feels her team is progressing nicely and is right where she thought they would be.
“Yeah, I am,” she said. “The young kids are coming along. They’re not young in years, but they’re young in experience. I think they’ve come along nicely since the beginning of the season. We’re getting better every day, which is all I can ask.”
“Definitely,” added Catania. “We can be a be a little better, but we’re getting there. We have a young team, so it’s a lot of practice, six days a week. A lot of shooting, we weren’t shooting well at the beginning of the season, but we’re improving.”
They started Thursday’s game a little on the rocky side, turning the ball over three times over the first 90 seconds. Caroline Messick scored Merion’s first four points, but unfortunately for them, that would be the highlight of the game.
Villa got a foothold into the game and took the lead for good at 5-4 on a three-pointer from Tray. They held Merion without another point until late in the first quarter, going on a 13-0 run until MJ Donohue scored on a layup and hit the free throw for the three-point play.
Catania hit on a layup to end the quarter with Villa up 15-7.
“I was trying to help find my teammates and in return, they find me and we go from there,” said Catania.
Turnovers were part of Merion’s undoing. They had eight in the first and they kept piling up like debris at a trash heap. Merion committed nine in the second and finished the game with a whopping total of 24.
“We play very good defense. We always do. They played hard, they don’t give up,” said McCartney. “Even when we play teams who are better than us, we hang because we play such good defense. We make it very hard to score on us.”
The Hurricanes continued to pull away in the second, holding Merion to just one free throw as they went 0-for-6 from the floor. Sophomore Briella Romero scored four of Villa’s 10 points in the quarter to help them to a 25-8 advantage at the halftime break.
Villa kept pulling away, building the lead to as much as 39-13 before Merion scored the last two baskets in the third, but still trailed 39-17 going into the fourth.
McCartney cleared the bench for the fourth as the game went into a running clock situation and the substitutes saw the rest of the game out. All but two of the 12 players who played for the Hurricanes scored.
Catania and Tray are the fuel who are driving the Hurricanes this season as the team’s leading scorers.
“They are our one-two punch right now,” said McCartney. “They are doing exactly what we need them to do right now, and they are being leaders and bringing everybody along. I couldn’t ask for more from them.”
Villa Maria 57, Merion Mercy 24
Merion Mercy: Trepts 0 0-0 0; Haub 1 0-0 2; McGovern 0 0-0 0; Kenefick 0 0-2 0; Donohue 2 2-2 6; Krause 2 0-0 4; Messick 2 3-4 8; Foran 1 0-0 2; Siorek 0 0-0 0; Convery 1 0-0 2. Totals 9 5-8 24.
Villa Maria: Deviney 2 0-0 4; Tray 3 3-5 11; Romero 1 1-2 4; Sharp 1 0-0 2; Catania 8 0-0 17; Liberatore 0 0-0 0; O’Hare 3 0-2 7; Ferry 2 0-2 5; Rush 0 0-0 0; Del Fra 1 1-2 3; Dean 1 0-0 2; Craft 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 5-13 57.
Merion Mercy 7 1 9 7 — 24
Villa Maria 15 10 14 18 — 57
3-point goals: Messick, Tray 2, Romero, Catania, O’Hare, Ferry.
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