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OTTAWA — At halftime Friday afternoon, Joliet Catholic Academy girls basketball coach Jim O’Brien told his team, “That was a good half of basketball.”
O’Brien was right on the nose. The Angels, who entered Friday’s game with a 1-11 record, played undefeated Morris virtually even before intermission. Morris led by one, with the bulk of the damage for JCA done by Abby Dulinsky and her 17 points.
Morris, though, ramped up the defensive intensity after intermission for a 59-35 victory.
Dulinsky did not make a field goal in the second half, though she did make four free throws to lead JCA with 21 points. Dulinsky made two of those free throws early in the third quarter to put JCA ahead 26-25, but Lily Hansen sparked a Morris rally by sinking three straight baskets to give her team a 31-26 lead which they never relinquished.
Morris (13-0) then got back-to-back putback baskets by Landrie Callahan, the second a three-point play which put Morris ahead 36-26 and put them well on their way to victory. Callahan finished with game-highs of 26 points and 14 rebounds, while Hansen scored 13 and Layken Callahan added 11. Skylar Saelens came off the bench to score six points.
“In the second half, we went to a more aggressive zone defense,” Landrie Callahan said. “We were able to stretch them out with our defense and that kind of set the tone in the second half.
“We had three girls in foul trouble in the first half, and Abby Dulinsky had a really good game for JCA. The girls came in off the bench in the first half and kept us in it until we could get back to where we should be.”
JCA stopped Morris' 11-0 run with a basket by Breanna Zafra and a free throw by Dulisky, but Morris outscored the Angels 11-5 the rest of the quarter, getting a pair of 3-pointers by Landrie Callahan, a basket by Saelens and three points by Layken Callahan in the stretch, to take a 47-34 lead into the fourth.
“Give credit to JCA,” Morris coach Mike Lutz said. “They played very hard and are a physical team, and we had a hard time matching that in the first half. We’re about halfway through the season and we are still struggling a little bit with attention to detail.
“Our girls played much better in the second half. Lily Hansen is a real key for us, and Alyssa Jepson, Tessa Shannon and Skylar Saelens played very well. We did a better job in the second half of pressuring the ball and pushing it up the court when we could.”
Layken Callahan scored seven points in the fourth quarter to lead Morris, while Hansen scored five, JCA’s only point in the final quarter came on a free throw by Ryan Stobaugh with 2:30 remaining.