Anthony Wayne pulls away, holds on for 61-52 win over Central Catholic

Bonivel leads Generals with 18

Anthony Wayne's Jasmine Bonivel, left, is fouled on her way to the basket by Central Catholic's Alex Matus.

THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH
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Anthony Wayne's Jasmine Bonivel, left, is fouled on her way to the basket by Central Catholic's Alex Matus.

BOWLING GREEN — The Showcase at the Stroh served as a measuring stick on the big stage for Anthony Wayne and Central Catholic girls basketball teams Saturday.

After the Irish started off quickly, the Generals utilized a huge second-quarter surge to win 61-52 at Bowling Green State University’s Stroh Center.

The Generals outscored the Irish 22-4 in the second quarter as Anthony Wayne used defensive rebounding and crisp offensive execution to build an insurmountable 35-21 lead at the half.

PHOTO GALLERY: Click here to view photos of the game

Senior guard Jasmine Bonivel poured in 10 of her game-high 18 points in the decisive second quarter for the Generals (14-5).

“Coach told us we had to play good defense because they have a lot of good shooters,” said Bonivel, who also had six rebounds. “We needed to get out on their shooters and contest.”

It was the third of five games played at the Stroh event.

The Irish held a five point lead early in the second quarter. But Central made just 2 of 11 shots in the stanza and Anthony Wayne grabbed eight defensive rebounds. The Generals held the Irish without a basket over the final 6:13 of the second quarter with a 22-2 run.

Anthony Wayne's Sara Zankl, left, and Abby Allen surround Central Catholic's Demi Russell.

“This was a great win for us,” AW coach Jeremy Terwilliger said. “We ended a lot of possessions with one and done. We limited second chances. We made shots and set good screens and that makes a big difference. We handled their pressure and we didn't have many turnovers. And they have quick guards so that was huge.”

Abby Allen and Victoria Burdo each scored 10 points for Anthony Wayne.

Demi Russell paced Central Catholic (12-7) with 13 points, while Byrdy Galernik chipped in with 12 and Kiana McClendon had eight points and six rebounds.

Central Catholic came out of the gate strong and led 17-13 after one quarter. The Irish used a 11-4 run to take an early seven-point lead.

Back-to-back buckets by Galernik gave Central a 21-16 lead early in the second stanza. From there Terwilliger said AW focused on keeping Galernik, who came in averaging 16.3 points per game, out of the lane.

“Any possession where we kept Galernik out of the paint was a positive,” he said.

Then it was all AW as the Generals finished the quarter by outscoring the Irish 19-0. Allen had a 3-pointer to tie it at 21 and Burdo's basket inside gave the Generals a lead they would never relinquish.

Bonivel came up with a steal, was fouled in transition, and made both free throws to build the lead to six. She then hit a 3 with 1:40 left in the first half to give the Generals a 32-21 edge.

“I think we did really well and everything we did in practice paid off. It was a great atmosphere,” Bonivel said.

Ashley Mitchell’s 3 put AW up 35-21 at the half.

The Irish pulled within eight points with a 6-0 run to open in the third quarter. A 3 from Mitchell, who had six points, and a jumper from Bonivel re-established an 11 point lead for AW.

“We had a lot of different people step up,” Bonivel said.

Central pulled within nine in the fourth quarter, but AW's big lead was too much.

Terwilliger credited Allen for her defensive effort. Sara Zankl (eight points), and McKenzie Krieg (five points) also provided good minutes.

“Statistically we don't have many spectacular scorers but we have a lot of kids on any given night that get up into the teens,” Terwilliger said. “It's hard to prepare for us if we are playing well.”

Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.