Rosary spreads the scoring wealth

It's one thing to have your whole team clock in time, but for everyone to score at least 1 point is rare.

That's exactly what happened Monday for the Rosary girls basketball team, as all 13 healthy players on the roster scored in the Royals' 67-21 nonconference win at Aurora Christian.

While starter Jordan Rettig led the way with 19 points - almost outscoring the Eagles on her own - senior Andi DeKing was the last player to score when she connected on a free throw with 45 seconds left in the game.

"It was great seeing everyone score," said Rosary junior starter Katie Petrando. "That means we were all working together. It was exciting."

Rettig got things started for the Royals early, as she scored the first 6 points of the game. A free throw from Petrando spotted Rosary 7 points before the Eagles (4-7) could produce a basket.

A 3-pointer and free throw from Rachel Mertens (team-high 7 points) and a basket from Naomi Haas were the only 6 points Aurora Christian produced in the first half, as Rosary (8-3) outscored the Eagles 17-0 in the second quarter to take a 29-point halftime advantage.

"We wanted to come out strong, and I think we did," Petrando said. "I don't think we really noticed (we held them scoreless in the second) until we looked at the score. We thought, 'Wow, we really did that.' It was a team effort to hold them."

Just like in the first quarter, Rettig scored the first 6 points of the second half. By then, Rosary led 41-6 before Nicolle Hamm broke the Eagles' drought with a basket with 4:54 remaining in the third quarter. Rettig's 6-foot presence in the middle allowed her to get easy baskets and finish with 8 rebounds.

"(Aurora Christian doesn't have) a lot of size," Rosary coach Dave Beebe said. "We got the ball to Jordan, and she did fine."

Petrando led the way on the boards with 10 to go with her 9 points and Meghan Gannon led the bench with 8 points for the Royals.

"Rosary is a very good basketball team, and we didn't help ourselves out tonight," Aurora Christian coach Dan Stone said. "Rosary has a fine program, good coach in Dave Beebe and they have some really good players."