Twin wins: Winnen sisters help Elyria Catholic beat Walsh Jesuit, improve to 2-0

ELYRIA — It's still extremely early in the season but there's no question what Elyria Catholic's girls are thinking about. The Panthers took care of Walsh Jesuit 59-33 Monday night for their second win in as many nights to start the season. "I think we're doing well for this early in the season," senior Abby Winnen said. "We haven't peaked too early like Coach Roth (Eric Rothgery) likes to say. We're at a good spot right now and I'm so excited to see what the tournament holds and how far we can go." While that's a long time from now, EC is primed for another stellar season, especially with the Winnen twins on the floor. "They're big, they're strong," Rothgery said of his 6-foot-1 veterans. "If you're in trouble, you're supposed to find one of them. That's helpful." Sure is. Abby and Ally Winnen are starting their fourth year of varsity ball. Monday, Ally scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Abby had 10 points and nine boards. "We know Walsh," Rothgery said. "We play them. They work hard. They don't have a lot of size so if you use just a little bit of patience ... Maggie (Walsh coach Maggie Ferrando) is a new coach over there but I've known Maggie a long time. She's a great coach and she's going to have those kids working hard." "We knew they would press us, they're a scrappy team," Ally Winnen said. "That's how they win a good amount of games every single year. We knew if we handle the ball and got the ball over halfcourt, they can't beat us in our halfcourt game." EC built a 10-2 lead and in spite of five first-quarter turnovers managed to maintain a good cushion throughout. The Panthers led 21-5 after a quarter and 33-9 at halftime. With the twins inside and good shooters on the perimeter, EC had it going. Sophomore Annika Bredel scored 10 points and had five rebounds and junior Emily Rapacz contributed nine points and six boards. "Me and Ally are good together but we're also good apart," Abby Winnen said. "One of us will come in for each other and we can get good minutes out of that." EC moved the ball quickly against Walsh's press and was able to get some easy breakaways off it. The Panthers outrebounded the Warriors 48-34 and turned it over 11 times to Walsh's 16. "One of our points of emphasis in the preseason was working on handling pressure," Rothgery said. "We're glad we had to play a high-pressure team this early. I like the way our girls are sharing the ball. Everybody's cheering everybody on. Everybody's trying to get everybody points. Makes for a fun group to be around." Rothgery was able to get 10 players in the game and seven score at least three points. Angela Vitantonio and Katie Clark led Walsh with eight and seven points, respectively. "Happy where we're at right now," Rothgery said. "We've got a tough schedule. We try to play some of these bigger, quicker Division I schools just to help us get ready for the long road of the season." Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. Elyria Catholic 59, Walsh Jesuit 33 Walsh Jesuil (59): Maddie Pietrowski 1-0-2, Amelia Figler 0-0-0, Katie Clark 3-1-7, Megan Taraba 2-0-4, Angela Vitantonio 3-0-8, Colette Sutton 1-0-2, Abby Garner 1-0-3, Kieran Norton 1-1-3, Delaney Lineweaver 0-1-1, Hallie Walcutt 0-0-0, Rachel Zsembik 0-0-0, Taylor Dolson 1-0-3. Totals 13-3-33. Elyria Catholic (59): Emily Rapacz 2-4-9, Abby Winnen 4-1-10, Annika Bredel 4-0-10, Kaylie Griffin 0-0-0, Ally Winnen 7-4-18, Skye Rawson 1-0-3, Lexi Hall 2-0-5, Stephanie Griffin 2-0-4, Lexi Szalai 0-0-0, Sarah Griffin 0-0-0. Totals 22-9-59. Walsh Jesuit &emsp;&emsp;5 4 12 12&emsp;&emsp;--33 Elyria Catholic &emsp;&emsp;21 12 17 9&emsp;&emsp;--59 Three-point goals: Walsh Jesuit 4-14 (Vitantonio 2, Garner, Dolson), Elyria Catholic 6-25 (Bredel 2, Rapacz, Abby Winnen, Rawson, Hall). Field goals: Walsh Jesuit 13-44 (29.5 percent), Elyria Catholic 22-61 (36 percent). Free throws: Walsh Jesuit 3-9 (33 percent), Elyria Catholic 9-10 (90 percent). Rebounds: Walsh Jesuit 34 (Clark 8), Elyria Catholic 48 (Ally Winnen 12). Turnovers: Walsh Jesuit 16, Elyria Catholic 11. Fouls: Walsh Jesuit 11, Elyria Catholic 11. Fouled Out: None. Junior Varsity: Elyria Catholic 42-32.