Mother McAuley senior guard Quinn Arundel was holding her forearm after drawing an offensive foul against Bloom.
She looked to be in discomfort, grabbing at her arm for a couple of seconds after the play, but she shook it off and remained in the game. On the ensuing offensive possession, Arundel received a screen and drove to the basket, absorbing a bump in the air as she released her floater for an and-one.
That two-play sequence sums up Arundel as a player.
“She impacts the game in terms of winning more than any player we’ve ever had that I’ve coached,” coach Curtis Lewis said.
Arundel was a difference-maker in McAuley’s 53-38 win over Bloom.
To win on Saturday, McAuley had to lock in defensively and control the glass. They trailed 26-21 at halftime because of Bloom’s success on the glass and how they created second-chance points. Bloom senior guard Kamryn Turner was huge in the first half, scoring 15 points.
Between the Mighty Mac’s cold shooting and the plethora of offensive rebounds from Bloom, the objective was clear for McAuley in the second half: Keep Bloom off the glass and be more disruptive defensively.
“They were really aggressive in their ball pressure that we needed to get stops so they didn’t set up their defense,” said Arundel , who finished with 18 points.
Bloom finished with 12 points in the second half. Junior Taji Alexa (20 points) and senior forward Lily Costello ( did a good job of boxing out and limiting Bloom to one shot on a given possession, and everyone pinched in to cut off the dribble penetration.
McAuley entered the fourth quarter down 34-30 and with Alexa, one of their best scorers, on the bench with three fouls. Two quick threes from senior guard Delia Sullivan and junior Emma Kenney allowed McAuley to take a 36-33 lead and forced a Bloom timeout.
“Everyone is contributing in their own way,” Arundel said.
After the Mighty Macs got the lead, Arundel’s spectacular two-way play was what allowed McAuley to take control of the game. She forced a traveling violation by sliding her feet and getting in front of a Bloom player. Then, with the Mighty Macs leading 40-36, she had great anticipation and jumped a pass that turned into a fastbreak layup.
Arundel hit just one three-pointer in the game, which is out of the norm for her. She’s the team’s best shooter. But her brilliance showed in her ability to change the game without knocking down threes.
In the second half, the Mighty Macs played with the requisite desperation needed to get the win.
“We need this game,” Sullivan said. “We wanted it way more than [Bloom]. I think [with us] starting the second half of our season, we need these wins [because] we’re going in a really tough part of our season.”
McAuley plays DePaul Prep, Kenwood and Providence over the next two weeks. That stretch will be vital for the team as playoff times comes closer.
“We’re starting to make the right turn in the right direction,” Lewis said. “We don’t want to peak at this point, but I think we’re at a point where we’re getting better each week. I feel we’re better now than we were to begin the season.”