Lady Rockets extend winning streak to 10 games
Jefferson-Morgan蘑菇视频 Jamie Lawrence (13) races down the court away from Monessen defenders during the Lady Rockets鈥� Section 3-A game at Jefferson-Morgan High School on Jan. 14. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
Monessen's Alana Duncan (2) looks for room to make a pass through Jefferson-Morgan's Ally Bodgen (11) and Erin Confortini (15) during Thursday's Section 3-A game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.
Monessen's Andrea Kroll attempts to dribble the ball around Jefferson-Morgan's Anna Mattish during Thursday's Section 3-A game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.
Holly Tonini
Jefferson-Morgan蘑菇视频 Anna Mattish (10) looks for clear path to the basket while being pressured by Monessen蘑菇视频 Marqula Green (3) during Thursday蘑菇视频 Section 3-A game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.
JEFFERSON 鈥� In a match-up of two teams at the opposite end of the spectrum in Section 3-A, the Jefferson-Morgan girls basketball squad extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 77-20 rout of Monessen Thursday night.
The 77 points is a season high for the Lady Rockets (13-1, 8-0), while the defense was as stingy as ever for the home team. Coming into the contest, J-M gave up an average of 31.2 points per game, the lowest in all of the WPIAL.
鈥淚 always remind the team that every game is important,鈥� J-M coach Chris Niemiec said. 鈥淲e always have to get better and we are by no means perfect. No matter who the opponent is, we have to be focused because one bad game can ruin your season. We have a lot of experience on our team, and we knew what we had to do tonight.鈥�
Kayla Yorko scored a game-high 25 points for the Lady Rockets, making five shots from beyond the arc.
Other notable scorers for J-M were Nikki Venick (19), Anna Mattish (11) and Jamie Lawrence (eight). Erin Confortini added six points, while Ally Bogden and Morgan Simkovic chipped in with four apiece.
With six section games left in the regular season, the Lady Rockets are currently at the top spot in Section 3-A.
With the loss, the Lady Greyhounds (1-13, 0-8) extended their losing skid to 12 games.
Marqula Green collected eight points for Monessen, followed by six from Lashaundria Gillaspie.
Monessen蘑菇视频 coach Gina Naccarato was unavailable for comment after the game.
After a free throw by Monessen蘑菇视频 Daelynn Yuvan trimmed the deficit to 5-3 in the early stages of the first period, J-M tallied 21 consecutive points to break the game wide open.
鈥淥ur press was key in the first quarter,鈥� Niemiec said. 鈥淚t kept us moving and aggressive at both ends of the court. We wanted to cause turnovers and speed the game up. Our press makes us bring a higher amount of energy into the game.鈥�
Yorko compiled 10 points in the opening eight minutes, while Venick scored eight for J-M.
Leading 26-5 at the end of one quarter, the Lady Rockets went on another run with 12 unanswered points to begin the second period. J-M led 45-9 at the halftime intermission.
鈥淲e had to finish around the hoop and make our lay-ups,鈥� Niemiec said. 鈥淲e were strong inside, but we also made a lot of threes tonight. That mixture of offense is very important for us moving on. The girls are sharing the ball more and we are always looking for that extra pass.鈥�
In the third quarter, J-M opened the frame with an 11-2 run and a pair of free throws by Lawrence in the spree put the mercy rule and running clock into effect.
The Lady Rockets held a 9-6 scoring edge the rest of the third quarter, and carried the play in the final eight minutes with a 12-3 scoring advantage.
Monessen hosts Carmichaels tonight in a non-section affair, while J-M is idle until Monday when it travels to Fort Cherry for a section contest.
鈥淥ur defense will carry us,鈥� Niemiec said. 鈥淭his year in particular we are staying in front and are contesting every shot on every possession. We are not giving up any easy points. Defense and rebounding are keys for our success down the stretch run.鈥�