By Mike Buchanan and Derek Toney
 

The door has been slammed shut, and Seton Keough is letting no one in. Aysa Bussie and Ayana Lee made sure of that on Sunday.

The No. 1 Gators routed No. 6 Mercy by 25 points in a 61-36 IAAM A-Conference win yesterday, in Baltimore, as Bussie and Lee combined for 31 points and 21 rebounds.

Keough improved to 18-1 overall and a perfect 12-0 in the IAAM, the only undefeated team in the A-Conference. And the Gators have done it in convincing fashion.

No league team has come within single digits in any game. Towson Catholic has come the closest – 11 points – in a 49-38 loss. Mercy lost by 16 in its first game versus Keough, and Archbishop Spalding lost by 19. The other nine victims have succumbed by an average margin of 40 points per game.

Coach Jackie Boswell’s team grabbed the top ranking last week with a 22-point win over St. Frances. Not resting on their laurels, the Gators took on two ranked league foes this week and sent both packing, with the aforementioned win over Spalding and the win over Mercy.

Keough led by five after the first quarter, upped the lead to 16 at the half, and after letting the Magic hang around in the third, it posted a 19-9 fourth period to close it out with an exclamation point.

In the huddle after the first quarter, Mercy Coach Mary Ella Marion told her team, “We’ve allowed too much penetration down the middle.” The Keough guards were able to get to the basket, and if they missed, Bussie or Lee was there to clean it up on the offensive boards.

The second quarter was a bit more up-tempo on both ends. Turnovers were a factor in the second, as Mercy committed seven and Keough six, but the Gators got more points in transition on their steals, and built that 16-point lead at the break.

Mercy actually had a one-point edge in the third, but you wouldn’t know that unless you kept track, as the Magic went eight minutes without a field goal in the second and third combined, and Keough still had a 15-point lead going into the final period.

The fourth quarter was all Keough, as the host team posted a 19-9 quarter to seal the deal.

Bussie, the Gator’s junior center, was the obvious Player of the Game, scoring a game-high 18 points and adding 12 rebounds for a solid double-double. She also added six blocks for good measure. Her presence inside was good for a few more missed shots on the other side. Lee did her part with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Mercy had a very hard time going inside. When it tried, the end result was a) no shot, b) a tough shot, or C) a blocked shot … or worse yet, an errant entry pass that resulted in a turnover. Unable to go inside, Mercy would need to have an above-average day from the perimeter or free throw line – or both – but Marion’s squad had neither.

Seton Keough gave Mercy an opportunity to stay in the game with numerous fouls, but Mercy was only able to connect on 10-19 free throws for the game and did not shoot well from the outside, making its job that much harder. Keough, meanwhile, connected on 12-15 from the line.

“I’m not sure we were ready for the big stage today,” said Mercy Assistant Coach Dave Zikorus. “Our inability to knock down the outside shot hurt. We had 19 turnovers, but we figured below 20 or below against this team pressing all game, is in the range.” In the previous game between these two, Mercy trailed by only three at the half, but shot the ball better than yesterday.

Zikorus’ daughter, senior forward Jess Zikorus, played a solid game, finishing with 6 six points and 11 rebounds, while she and Brynne Matthews had to battle Bussie down low, each giving away five-plus inches in height.

Sophomore guard Carissa Shropshire scored nine points to lead Mercy, and senior guards Khadija Mitchell and Maggie Marion added five points each.

“I just feel like we didn't compete today. Take nothing away from Seton Keough, they have so many weapons and do so many things well, but I just don't feel we showed our best today,” said Marion. ”They have the pressure defense, they limit you to one shot on the defensive boards, they can go inside or out, it's just hard to match up against them. We've played some good teams and been successful, but this is the first game for us on this bigger stage. There was probably an element of nervousness and hesitation.”

For now, Mercy has earned the spot of third-best team in the A-Conference. Keough is hands-down the top team in the league, and St. Frances, until someone beats them, other than Keough, is second-best.

Mercy leads the middle tier, having beaten Spalding, Towson Catholic and McDonogh. The Magic players and staff have actually over-achieved to this point in the season. They are currently ranked No. 6 in the DigitalSports Top20 Poll and No. 7 in The Baltimore Sun Poll. With no true post presence (despite the valiant efforts of Zikorus and Matthews), compared to some of the other area ranked teams, Mercy has still been able to post a 14-3 mark, and most Magic supporters would have taken that record in a heartbeat, if asked pre-season where Mercy would be in mid-January.

There is a lot of season left to be played, and Seton Keough is certainly in the driver’s seat in the IAAM race.  Mercy found that out on Sunday, as Bussie, Lee and teammates sent another team packing.

Seton Keough 61, Mercy 36
M –  Mitchell 5, Matthews 3, Shropshire 9, Zikorus 6, Marion 5, Abell 2 Trageser 2, Kane 4.  Totals: 12 10-19 36. 
SK –  Ellis 1, Ullman 7, Read 2, Singletary 4, Fischer 2, Bussie 18, Lee 13, Harrison 2, Williams 4, Wright 6. Totals: 24 12-15 61.
Half: SK, 34-18.