Sacred Heart Wins Non-League Showdown Over Wilson

Sacred Heart Academy junior Micaela Ryan is about as good as it gets in Western New York girls basketball this season. Niagara-Orleans League power Wilson took a 40-minute ride to find that out the hard way on Thursday night.

Ryan buried eight 3-pointers en route to a game-best 28 points and the Sharks posted a 68-54 win over the Lakewomen on a top-tier non-league game.

“She was just fabulous,” SHA coach Jack Coppolla said. “The girls are being patient and finding each other and waiting their turn. And we did a great job of finding her.”

Ryan, a third-year varsity guard, hit five treys in the first half helping the Sharks build an 11-point lead over the feisty Lakewomen. She hit three more from long-range in the second half as the sharks put the game away

“My teammates did a great job of finding me,” Ryan said. “We did a great job of just moving the ball around and playing good defense. It was a good team win.”

Sophomore forward Jennifer Grimm added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Sacred Heart (12-6). Freshman Siobhan Ryan – Micaela’s sister – added 10 points and sophomore center Makenzie Sees tossed in 10 more points for the Sharks.

On Senior Night, the team’s lone senior – guard Alisa Schaefer – scored two points, but her strong defense helped SHA take control of the game early.

It’s Senior Night and Alisa Schaefer came out strong,” Coppola said. “She usually doesn’t start but she did today and she came and played good defense on their best player and really set the tempo for us. It was great to see.”

It was a nice non-league battle for SHA, which will play Class AA foes Jamestown on Saturday, ahead of Tuesday’s showdown against Monsignor Martin Athletic Association power Cardinal O’Hara.

“We’re happy with the way we played,” Coppola said. “Great-coached team and great players on that Wilson team. That’s a huge win for us.”

Rachel Senek scored 22 points and Kayla Neumann added 19 for the Lakewomen (14-3). Sacred Heart built a lead as large as 19 in the second but the Lakewomen kept chipping away. Although the deficit never got within single-digits in the second half, Wilson showed it was ready to play for 32 minutes against anyone.

“I was proud of our effort,” Wilson coach Brian Baker said. “Sacred Heart went on a couple runs, obviously the Ryan sisters are tough, but I liked the way we kept up and kept battling.”