Any good team can bolt out in front and stay there. A great one can deal with a deficit with the same mindset, and still find brilliant success. The unbeaten Bishop Grimes girls basketball team dealt with the latter situation in Tuesday night’s game at Tully, and used a sustained second-quarter surge to turn things around and lead to a 51-34 victory over the Black Knights and a 10-0 mark. Tully was 7-2 overall and, led by Jenna Johnson (19 points per game), led the OHSL Patriot American division. With Grimes a part of the Patriot National division, this would be the only time the Cobras and Black Knights would meet in the regular season. Grimes was rightly concerned about Johnson – but it was center Jesslyn Doody that converted some early baskets, putting Tully out in front. Then Johnson started to cook, hitting a 3-pointer late in the first quarter and a lay-up early in the second period. Suddenly, Grimes was facing a 15-8 deficit, and at least a small concern that its unblemished record could take a hit. But that concern did not last. Instead, it was Tully that took a hit.
Picking up full-court pressure, the Cobras forced a long string of turnovers, many of them before Tully could cross midcourt. On the offensive end, the Cobras used a combination of crisp passes and quick movement without the ball to set up open looks – and baskets – both in the paint and from the perimeter. By the time Tully could breathe again, Grimes had closed the half on a 22-1 run, and it extended to 25-1 early in the third quarter when Cassidy Weeks (in for Amelia Heiselman, who saw limited time in the second half due to injury) drained a 3-pointer. Tully made a brief 6-0 push, only to have Cady Kalemba and Emma Kelley hit on timely 3-pointers to push the Black Knights away for good. Amanda Marcely excelled all night, finishing with 13 points, while Erannan Shattuck came off the bench to produce 11 points and Weeks added seven points. Doody led Tully with 14 points, with Johnson held to 10 points, barely half her average.