Villa Maria bests Gwynedd Mercy in battle of unbeatens

LOWER GWYNEDD >> Villa Maria Academy faced a tall task Thursday evening. The Hurricanes traveled to Gwynedd Mercy Acaemy for a battle of unbeatens, looking to hand the Monarchs not just their first loss of the season, but their first Athletic Association of Catholic Academies loss since 2021.

Villa Maria took a two-point lead to the fourth quarter and never let it get any closer. Senior Clare Cronley hit a three-pointer halfway through the final frame to make it a six-point game and the Hurricanes maintained a multi-possession lead the rest of the way, closing out a 40-32 win to improve to 12-0.

“We knew that we had the talent to beat them,” Cronley said. “It was about heart, hustle. We knew we had to win the game with defense. We came out and did what we had to do.”

Gwynedd Mercy got within five points twice in the final two-and-a-half minutes, 35-30 and 37-32. Villa went to the line to shoot a one-and-one with 30.4 seconds left and the 37-32 lead. The first shot was missed, but Carly Catania grabbed the offensive rebound and got fouled. When she missed the front-end of her one-and-one, Cronley grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled. She missed her first free throw, but Catania was there again for an offensive board. She got fouled and sunk both foul shots to make it 39-32 and seal the game with 18.3 seconds left.

“We said that’s a very good representation of our team as a whole,” Cronley said. “We missed the free throw, but we don’t ever give up. We get the rebound and take it back out for another better shot, better play. It just shows we never give up, you always have to keep working for it.”

“That put a stamp on some of the problems we had at stretches,” GMA coach Tom Lonergan said. “They’re a very experienced, very talented team.”

The Hurricanes (12-0, 5-0 AACA) made it tough on Gwynedd Mercy’s offense all game, only surrendering 32 points and 11 made baskets. VMA trailed 11-8 after the first quarter, but identified its defensive problem and corrected it, closing the half with an 8-0 run and taking a 21-15 lead into the locker room.

“The momentum for defense started in the second quarter,” Cronley said. “They set a lot of screens. We knew we had to talk on the screens and either get through or switch. As soon as we started talking, it picked up the momentum, got them confused, it gave us energy and I think it worked.

“We played timid in the first quarter. I think everyone knew we haven’t beaten them. Everyone was just very timid playing, didn’t want to do anything wrong.”

“Second quarter hurt us big time,” Lonergan said. “That’s where we got pushed back on our heels. Physical play by them pushed my young pups back on their heels a little. Their experience really showed in that second quarter and our lack of experience might have showed some in that second quarter as well. Credit to us that, being a young team, we were able to go in, regroup and come out and give it a shot. We were able to cut it to two, just not able to get over the hump.”

Cronley led Villa Maria with 10 points while Marah McHugh added nine and Alice Nash had seven.

Bailey Balkir and Dylan Burke each had eight points to lead Gwynedd Mercy and Megan McDonnell added six.

The Monarchs (12-1, 4-1 AACA) get another shot at Villa Maria on the road on Feb. 2.

“They go deep,” Lonergan said. “We tried to go deep, too. They go eight or nine, we tried to go seven to eight to nine. It’s a good matchup. We’re obviously going to have another opportunity to play them again. We have to be able to shoot the ball better than we did tonight. I believe we were 9-for-29 in or around the lane area. You can’t leave that many points off the board.

“If you saw us back where we were in the beginning of December and see us where we’re at right now – I bet you we’ll be a lot better come February 10th, a month from now. That’s what encourages me – the young pups keep getting better and better and we still have a lot of season left.”

Villa Maria Academy 40, Gwynedd Mercy Academy 32
Villa Maria Academy 8 13 6 13 – 40
Gwynedd Mercy Academy 11 4 10 7 – 32
VMA: Elaina Guerzon 1 0-0 2, Ava Irvine 0 1-2 1, Marah McHugh 4 1-3 9, Ella Iacone 3 0-0 6, Clare Cronley 4 -1 10, Carly Catania 1 3-5 5, Alice Nash 3 0-0 7, Liv Broadhurst 0 0-0 0. Total 16 5-11 40.
GMA: Bailey Balkir 3 1-2 8, Megan McDonnell 2 1-2 6, Emilia Coleman 1 1-2 3, Hannah Griffin 1 2-4 4, Dylan Burke 4 0-0 8, Morgan Newell 0 0-0 0, Cara Lapp 0 1-2 1, Carsy Kelly 0 2-2 2, Mary Kate Donahue 0 0-0 0. Total 11 8-14 32.
3-point goals: VMA: Alice Nash, Clare Conley 2. GMA: Bailey Balkir, Megan McDonnell.