Mother McAuley digs deep, then comes up smiling

There are holes, and there are craters.

What Mother McAuley basketball coach Karen Ade was staring at Monday night was a canyon. She had used her second timeout in three minutes as the Mighty Macs trailed Resurrection 18-0 in what was looking like a GCAC Red blowout.

"You know, they were pressuring us, and we were backing down instead of taking it to them," she said. "We couldn't get a basket off.

"I almost took my third timeout. I told them, 'You're better than this, and we're a much better team. They're pressuring us. Take that as a challenge.' Finally, our kids responded."

Senior Mo Sullivan broke the shutout by hitting a 3-pointer. It was followed by a 3-pointer by Sarah Garcia. Then, Mary Larkin took aim and hit from beyond the arc.

It was 27-26 Mother McAuley at halftime. From there, the Mighty Macs were able to more than hold their own. They prevailed 57-51 as Sullivan finished with 15 points and Jen Moriarty 12. Mother McAuley improved to 15-6 overall, 3-2 in conference.

Sullivan's final basket left her with 1,000 career points.

"It's a nice honor, and she did it in three years," Ade said. "We knew before the game she was going for it. We brought a ball signed by the kids and presented it to her afterward. Actually, the Resurrection fans and their staff were very classy. They made an announcement and everybody cheered for her. It was nice."

It's been a while

Marist's boys basketball team suffered a real downer Friday night by losing a 43-42 East Suburban Catholic Conference decision to Marian Catholic. What better way to bounce back than by ending one of the longest losing streaks in school history?

When the RedHawks defeated St. Joseph 59-52 on Saturday night, it marked their first victory over the Chargers in 14 years.

"It was a great win for our kids and our program," Marist coach Gene Nolan said. "We really played well down the stretch. During the fourth quarter, St. Joe's made a run, but our kids knocked down some free throws."

Marist knocked down 15 of 17 from the line. Christian Matthews was 5-of-6, Linus Ellzey 4-of-4, Nick Valla and Jerron Charles 2-of-2, and Mike Leveston 2-of-3.

"What made the win so nice was that it came after such a tough loss on Friday," Nolan said. "Our kids came back, and played well against a really good team with a great tradition.

"I really feel like we've been improving the last couple of weeks. Whether it showed on Friday in our loss ... I don't think we played particularly well. But that doesn't take away the feeling that I think our kids and our coaches have that we are getting better."

Purple, with a purpose

There will be purple shirts galore in the normally green-dominated gym at Oak Lawn High School on Feb. 8, when the Spartans host Reavis in a boys basketball game.

The "Paint the Gym Purple" event is being coordinated by Oak Lawn teachers Jodi Newton and Faith Nelson, and being run in conjunction with the "Relay For Life" event that is held at the school each May. Proceeds from both events will be donated for cancer research.

"The last five years, on average, the 'Relay for Life' has raised $75,000 per year," Spartans coach Scott Atkins said. "In conjunction with 'Relay for Life,' it was Jodi's and Faith's idea to publicize the walk, to kind of kick-start it with the 'Paint the Gym Purple,' event.

"Reavis is joining our 'Relay for Life' walk this year, so they thought it was a good idea to get Reavis in on this. And purple is the official color of 'Relay for Life.' So we'll be having purple T-shirts that are being sold for a contribution and hoping to have a full gym of fans outfitted in purple."

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