Rosary changes its focus, gets win
Rosary started the new basketball year by revealing a sparkling new look.
The visiting Royals outscored IMSA by 18 points on 3-point shooting to grab the 52-41 victory in the season-opener for both teams Monday night in Aurora.
Rosary coach Dave Beebe had a simple explanation.
“We don’t have a Division I, Division II or Division III post player like we’ve had in recent years,” he said, citing the 30 3-point attempts by the Royals.
“We’re going to spread the floor and run and gun. It’s a new offensive system for all the kids,” he said.
Rosary’s perimeter attack proved necessary in the first quarter after they missed all six of their 2-point attempts. Rosary drained 5 field goals from beyond the arc during a 15-0 run and maintained the double-digit lead the remainder of the game.
Rosary junior forward Karly Tate nailed three 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 13 points for the Royals (1-0).
Tate, of St. Charles, said the team is excited by the entertaining style the team has adopted.
“That’s what we’ve been working on in practice,” she said of the new offensive look. “We’re a guard-dominant team, and we’re going to use the outside shoot to our advantage.”
IMSA junior Lindsey Conley (11 points) hit a miraculous 40-footer to beat the first quarter buzzer that pulled the Titans within 16-7.
Despite shooting just 19-63, Rosary raced out to a 29-16 lead at the break. Their up-tempo style resulted in taking 30 more shots as a result of grabbing 21 more offensive rebounds and forcing numerous IMSA turnovers.
Tate and Madison Richmond (8 points, game-high 7 rebounds) each converted a 3-pointer in the third quarter. Tate’s 3-pointer fueled a 12-7 run that extended the Royals’ advantage to 41-23.
On the downside, the team only attempted two free throws through the first three quarters compared to the Titans’ 16 in the same stretch.
“To me our fouling was one of the stories of the game,” Beebe said. “I was very happy with our defensive and offensive effort, but the one thing I was unhappy about was the lack of communication out there.
“The fouls kept them in the game.”
Junior guard Taylor Gibson hit two 3-pointers in the first half in scoring 11 points for the Royals. Rosary used its superior depth to negate the Titans’ late runs.
“The problem is this is the first 5-on-5 action we’ve had,” IMSA coach Keith McIntosh said.
Seneca Hutson scored 12 points to lead IMSA.
Nine different players scored for Rosary.