Gaels survive off night at Gateway
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HUNTINGTON - Good shooters have off nights.
The Holyoke Catholic girls basketball team was just happy to survive Monday when its top two scorers both had miserable nights on the offensive end.
The No. 9 Gaels overcame a combined three points from Kaitlyn Veit and Annie Broda and earned a 37-23 victory over No. 8 Gateway Regional in the first round of the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament.
Gateway's gym "is not an easy place to shoot and I think (the Catholic players) felt some extra pressure from our seeding and from it being the first tournament game for some of them," said coach Terry Murphy, who admitted to being disappointed that the tournament committee had placed the Bi-County West champion Gaels (12-9) behind the Tri-County winner Gators (16-3).
"But (senior forward Caitlin) Rooke was a bear for us in the second half and (junior guard) Sara (Dingee) kept us going in the first half," he added.
Veit, who averaged 14.7 points per game this season, had plenty of open shots from the outside, but got just one to fall, a drive down the right baseline five minutes into the contest.
"I felt pretty good (in warm-ups, but my shot) "was just a little off the entire game," said Veit, who has scored 846 career points. "My teammates stepped up huge for us. I'm really proud of the way everyone played."
Broda, meanwhile, entered the game on a hot streak with 52 points in her last three games, but had just one foul shot in the victory.
Dingee scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half as the Gaels took a 19-9 lead into the break.
Rooke took over inside in the second half, especially the fourth quarter, when she helped put the game away with six of her career-high 12 points.
The Gaels advance to play at No. 1 Lee (19-1) in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Thursday.
"It's going to come down to rebounding and mental toughness," said Veit, who saw the Berkshire North champion Wildcats play earlier this year. "They are going to expect to run right over us. But it's going to be about who wants it more."
Of the four Tri-County League teams to play in Division 3 first-round games Monday, the Gators were by far the most competitive thanks to a strong defensive effort.
"We have been building this program around defense and we had a strong showing on that end," coach Elijah Robbins said. "I'm very proud of the way we played."
Paige Fairman led Gateway with six points on two 3-pointers, while leading scorer Chelsea Merritt, who averaged 10.3 points per game, finished with four.
"Nobody expects much out of the Tri-County League, but I think we gave it a respectable showing," Robbins said.
The loss marked the final game for Gateway seniors Jess Hopson, Emma Long, Erin Igel and Kelly McCarthy.
"It's been a great year with them," Robbins said. "Their hard work has helped improve this program from the struggles it was having when they were getting here to being a respectable program that can hold its head high."
Jim Pignatiello can be reached at jpignatiello@gazettenet.com.
