Bounce back performance from Mother McAuley downs Wheaton North

Wheaton North ran into Mother McAuley at the wrong time.

Coming off last weeks loss against Fenwick, the Mighty Macs looked to be on a mission right from the opening tip which only meant difficult times ahead for the Falcons.

No. 16 Mother McAuley put on a dominating performance, leading the game wire to wire to defeat No. 9 Wheaton North, 62-44.

“I think we needed the loss to Fenwick to be honest, it was really a kick in the butt,” said McAuley head coach Ashley Luke Clanton.” After that we went back to the gym and worked at it hard. We’re a good ball club, but we have to bring energy. We don’t have a slew of D1 kids, but I think we played with a lot of energy tonight.”

The Mighty Macs were going to need that energy as Wheaton North had a size advantage at almost every position, but that didn’t stop McAuley from jumping out to a 17-8 first quarter lead.

“We box out really well and win the rebounding battle most nights,” said Clanton. That’s just our quickness to the ball and our ability to read the ball off the rim. These kids have battled being undersized for years. We have juniors and seniors that have been playing varsity since their freshman year.”

Things didn’t get much better for Wheaton North in the second quarter, as Mother McAuley utilized their team speed to beat the Falcons down the court almost every single time.

Tara O’Malley ran the show per usual for the Mighty Macs, posting a game high 19 points. Her three first half three pointers, and incredible passing ability allowed McAuley to go into halftime with a 35-16 lead.

Clanton said: “Tara brings a slew of things because she can. She can put the ball in the basket, she has the ability to break down a defender and find an open kid and those abilities make her really special for us.”

The start of the second half mirrored that of the first. Starting with defensive pressure, McAuley was able to turn over Wheaton North and get on the break for some easy baskets.

The defensive effort by the Mighty Macs also kept Whaton North’s Hannah Swider in check, as she was only able to score 16 points for the Falcons.

Mother McAuly never relented in the fourth quarter and ended up cruising to a 62-44 win, handing Wheaton North their first loss of the season.

In addition to O’Malley’s 19 points, Mother McAuley also received contributions from Lauren Ramsey with 12 and Kelly Galagher with 10.

Wheaton North will have the rest of the week off before facing Glenbard North this Saturday. Mother McAuley will look to get their first conference win against Marist this upcoming Thursday.