Jaedin Griggs hit for 23 points and Moon Area took control with a big first quarter on the way to a 54-24 win over host New Castle in a WPIAL Class 5A Section 3 matchup Monday night.
The Tigers, who improved to 2-2 overall in winning their section opener, outscored the Red Hurricanes 20-4 in the first quarter and extended that lead to 32-11 at halftime.
Moon put the game away with a 16-6 advantage in the third quarter.
Maria Depner added 11 points for the winners and Anya Schwartz contributed eight.
Moon coach Mark Pompeo praised the play of Griggs, calling her performance “outstanding,” but added that it was hardly a one-player show for the Tigers.
“It was really a good team win,” he said. “Each player was looking for the other. New Castle fights hard and they are a scrappy team. But we got a lot of great looks in transition after well-executed presses and defensive efforts.”
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 48, Beaver Falls 34
Claudio Ierullo led all scorers with 17 points and the Chargers bolted to a 15-0 lead after one quarter and cruised to their fifth straight victory and second in two starts in Class 3A Section 1 play.
Beaver Falls rebounded from its scoreless first quarter to trim OLSH’s lead to 20-11 at halftime, but the Chargers maintained an advantage throughout the rest of the game.
Ierullo hit a 30-foot buzzer beater to end the third quarter for OLSH and then added nine points in the fourth quarter as the Chargers built their lead to as large as 18 points.
Serra Catholic 52, Bishop Canevin 50
Freshman Bella Dumbroski scored 18 of her game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter as the Eagles overcame a nine-point deficit with six minutes to play in the game and stunned the Crusaders in a Class 1A Section 2 battle.
Isabella Sysak scored 13 points to lead Bishop Canevin, which fell to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in section play. Natalie Krisch added 12 for the Crusaders, who trailed 28-25 at halftime but outscored Serra 14-4 in the third quarter to lead 39-32 heading into the final eight minutes.
Bishop Canevin led by one at 50-49 with 16.4 seconds to play when Dumbroski hit a runner to put Serra Catholic up by a point. On the Crusaders’ next possession, Dumbroski stripped Sysak of the ball and was fouled. She converted one of her two free-throw attempts to make it 52-50 and Vyla Tomachesky’s desperation 3-pointer was off the mark for Bishop Canevin.
Kya Cooley added eight points for the Crusaders and Abbey Genes contributed 10 for Serra Catholic.
Carrick 47, Carlynton 43
Jocelyn Fisher poured in 28 points and the visiting Raiders used a big first quarter to build a lead that the Cougars could not overcome.
Jocelyn Griffin scored 17 points and Carlee Hughes added 14 for Carlynton, but it wasn’t enough.
Carrick outscored the Cougars 19-10 in the first period and widened its lead to 30-17 at halftime.
Cydney McClendon scored eight points for Carlynton, which fell to 3-3 overall, and Lucy Vetter added four.
Quaker Valley 61, Sto-Rox 16
Oumou Thiero struck for 28 points, 19 of which came in the first half, as the Quakers took control early and beat the host Vikings.
Thiero, a 6-foot-4 junior, scored 12 of Quaker Valley’s 22 first-quarter points, and added seven in the second. By that time, the Quakers had built a 32-12 lead and it was never a game after that.
Kiera Watson added 13 points for the winners.
Kamiyah Thompson led Sto-Rox with six points.
Sto-Rox coach Jeff Stuart said his team was intimidated by Thiero from the start. “We have to get a little more aggressive,” he said of the Vikings, who fell to 5-3 and 1-1 in Class 3A Section 1.
Stuart said he tried various defensive looks to neutralize Thiero, but didn’t get enough movement from his players. Although Thiero has plenty of size, Stuart said she showed a nice shooting touch and even hit a couple of 3-pointers.
“I tried putting one of my best defenders on her, but the rest of them got a little lazy,” he said.
The Vikings will entertain Mohawk Thursday.
BOYS: McGuffey 62, Carlynton 26
Ayden Cunningham scored 11 of his 23 points in the first quarter as the Highlanders shot out to a 23-6 lead in the first eight minutes and never looked back in handing the Cougars a loss in their Class 3A Section 2 opener.
Cunningham added seven points in the second quarter to help McGuffey build a 31-14 halftime lead.
Sam Sout added 10 points for the winners. Devonte Dean scored eight points to lead Carlynton, which dropped to 3-3 overall, while Damien Holloway and Mike Jenkins each added six.
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