St. Timothy’s aced the final exam of the season, overcoming an early deficit, illness and game-long foul trouble, going on to earn a 57-37 win over Catholic in the IAAM C Conference championship on Sunday at Goucher College.
The Cubs took an 8-6 lead in the first quarter, and St. Timothy’s was left with two players with two fouls each. But St. Timothy’s bounced back with a dominant second period, out-scoring Catholic, 23-6, to take a 29-14 lead into the half. Senior Kelsie Bacon keyed the second-quarter run with 10 points.
Catholic went on a mini-run in the third to close the gap, but Bacon and Kristen Kunaniec each hit a three-pointer and Hailey Dayton added three made free throws as STT took a slim 11-9 edge and a 37-23 lead going into the final quarter.
Catholic had its most productive quarter offensively in the fourth, with 14 points, but St. Timothy’s weathered the storm and scored 17, using an efficient late-game delay and hitting 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch to ice a 20-point win.
Bacon scored a game-high 19 points, earning unofficial Player-of-the-Game honors. Bacon also played a solid floor game, with just one turnover. Freshman Olivia Finckel had a solid double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Fellow Freshman Dayton added a big spark off the bench with nine points. Kristen McLaughlin had six points and seven rebounds while logging a game-high 30 minutes. Aryonna Hutchinson had a solid game with five points, eight rebounds and excellent defense on Catholic’s top scorer. Cori Spartana rounded out the scoring with one point and good defense.
St. Tim’s had an edge in almost every statistical department. STT shot 15-41 on 2’s (36.6%), 4-7 on 3’s (57.1%) and 19-48 overall (39.6%). Catholic shot 12-36 on 2’s (33.3%), 0-13 on 3’s (0.0%) and 12-49 overall (24.5%). STT was an impressive 15-of-20 from the free throw line (75.0%) while Catholic was 13-of-27 (48.1%). STT had a 39-34 edge in rebounds and 10-24 advantage in turnovers.
It was the first IAAM championship for St. Timothy’s basketball since the 2004-05 season. St. Timothy’s finished the season at 20-1 overall and 18-0 in the C Conference, and ended with a 20-game win streak. Catholic finished at 18-7 overall and 12-5 in the IAAM.
Archives would have to confirm, but it would be the first year that St. Timothy's has beaten Bryn Mawr AND won the league championship in the same season in a long time.
St. Timothy’s 57, Catholic 37
C: Buynum 9, Torbeck 4, Platt 1, Warns 7, Fields 12, Merkley 4. Totals: 12 (0) 13-27 37.
ST: Bacon 19, Kunaniec 5, Hutchinson 5, McLaughlin 6, Spartana 1, Dayton 9, Finckel 12. Totals: 19 (4) 15-20 57.
Half: ST, 29-14.