ATTLEBORO – Bishop Feehan (11-2; 5-0) shook off some poor outside shooting and broke free with their transition offense in the second half for a 58-47 victory over Catholic Central Large rival Bishop Fenwick (11-2; 5-1).

Despite a game-high 27 points from Cecilia Kay for Bishop Fenwick, the Shamrocks prevailed with a 12-2 run midway through the fourth quarter after trailing for most of the game.

The two teams met up in league play – a 53-45 overtime win for the Shamrocks back in December – but with this one being a nonleague battle, Feehan has bragging rights to the season series sweep and are in control of the league title as well.

“We know we are at our best in transition, and we were trying to generate it off our half court defense and we had to commit to the full court (pressure) to get some easy ones, well close ones because nothing is easy, “ said Bishop Feehan head coach, Amy Dolores. “We love great competition and teams like Fenwick push us to be better.”

After leading 19-18 at the half and with five lead changes throughout the third quarter, Caitlyn Boyle’s (13 points) pull-up banker off the right elbow in the paint tied things back up for the Crusaders, 36-36, with 5:15 left in the game.

Momentum was shifting but the combination of Charlotte Adams-Lopez and Maddy Steel put things away for good as Lopez-Adams gets credit for two of her three assists to Steel behind the arc which sparked the hectic 12-2 run and the 48-38 lead with just over two minutes left to play.

It was a defensive battle throughout the first half but the run-and-gun transition and key shots down the stretch proved to be too much for head coach Adam DeBaggis and his Bishop Fenwick squad. Fenwick now only has two losses on the season – both at the hands of the Shamrocks.

“It’s the runs – it seems like that’s how they win most of their games. It’s a formative stretch where we are turning the ball over, missing a layup, and they are gone,” said DeBaggis. “Maddy Steel from three was too much…we had momentum in the third and those threes got them back in. A ten-point run, and we lost by 11, that’s it to me.”

Steel, who finished with a team-high 20 points, got in on the bounce-pass paint magic hitting Julia Webster on the right block for the Shamrocks’ largest lead of the game, 54-41, with just over one minute left on the clock.

While the team was not efficient from three-point land, Steel and Mollie Mullen (three-for-three in the second half) hit enough key three-pointers in the final half to give the Shamrocks the comfortable lead when it counted.

Webster had all nine of her points in the second half while Lily Singer helped negate some of the inside game of Kay with a game-high 13 rebounds and was the key to most of the outlet passes and easy buckets for Dolores.

Kay, who is headed to American University in the fall, added 11 rebounds and four blocks in a massive effort for the Crusaders.

“We’ve played in a lot of big games already this season and a lot of these kids had good experience down the stretch last year, but I think just playing a tough schedule and experiencing some close game situations (helps),” said Dolores. “Kay is a great player and we’ve had trouble with her for years, because she is very skilled, but ultimately we were able to get a good team victory.”