When it’s all said and done, nobody will ask how — they will ask how many. That old adage couldn’t be more appropriate for Bishop McDevitt.
Just a year removed from a 1-21 season and a winless divisional campaign, the Crusaders battled their way to a 46-44 Mid-Penn Keystone girls’ basketball victory over Susquehanna Twp. on Wednesday night.
In a turnover-filled affair, coach Jack Messenger’s group kept its poise in the clutch moments. It wasn’t pretty, but all that matters is what is in the left-hand column.
“I told them last year when it was all over, that it was their team. We said stay together and we’ll win the game,” Messenger said. “When you’re young, the tendency is to lose your poise, and we were right on the verge of losing our poise. But we just said, ‘Hey, chill out and stay together.”
Buoyed by a raucous crowd, the Crusaders rode the wave of adrenaline throughout the contest. As both teams struggled to find the scoreboard, it turned into a war of attrition in the waning moments of play.
The Crusaders were clinging to a 44-42 lead with 26 seconds to play. Indians guard Lena Williams drove to the bucket and drew contact to get to the free-throw line.
Williams hit both free throws, setting the stage for a wild final 20 seconds.
Susquehanna Twp. standout Tanner Turner-Rush intercepted a McDevitt pass and charged down the floor. Turner-Rush looked to dish to a teammate at the elbow, but Shannon Bolton picked off the pass and was immediately fouled.
The Crusaders junior captain kept her nerve and drilled her first free throw to put her club ahead by one.
“I was thinking as the captain I need to support the team and bring it home for us. We were struggling in the beginning with our foul shots, and I knew at the end we needed to make the opportunity count,” Bolton said.
Bolton’s second free throw missed but deflected out of bounds off an Indian hand to keep the ball with Bishop McDevitt. Junior Jackie Corrigan was fouled with seven seconds left, and made the second of her two free throws to make it a two-point lead.
“When I missed the first one I knew nothing was wrong with my shot and that some don’t go in. I wanted to just do the same thing, and luckily it paid off,” Corrigan said.
After already matching their win total from a season ago, there is plenty of exuberance in Crusader land.
“I’m probably not going to sleep tonight, I’ll just be so hyped,” Corrigan said. “It looks promising; we want to try and bring back what McDevitt once had and that’s a winning program.”
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