Solid start: Lady Greyhounds defeat Geibel in section opener, 54-42
CONNELLSVILLE TWP. 鈥� Monessen carried the play in the first half Tuesday night and maintained the advantage in the second half to open Section 2-A play with a 54-42 road victory at Geibel Catholic.
The Lady Greyhounds (1-0, 4-2) rallied from an early 5-2 deficit for a 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The visitors extended the lead to 28-15 at halftime.
Monessen was able to hold the Lady Gators鈥� Emma Larkin to 10 points in the first half and didn鈥檛 allow other Geibel players to make up the slack by playing an extended 3-2 zone defense.
鈥淲e play a 3-2 zone, but we normally press. But, the way (Emma Larkin) dribbles we didn鈥檛,鈥� said Monessen coach Janine Vertacnik. 鈥淭he other girl (Ava Henderson) makes it hard to double up on (Emma Larkin).
鈥淭he plan was to contain her. You can鈥檛 stop her all the time.鈥�
Geibel Catholic coach Sara Larkin said the defense was no surprise, noting her girls did not react.
鈥淲e knew what鈥檚 coming. We have to execute,鈥� said Sara Larkin. 鈥�(Defenses) pack the paint. They鈥檙e not going to let Emma get to the hoop.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 anticipate and we were not moving. But, we will keep working.鈥�
Emma Larkin was able to find lanes through the defense in the third quarter and with her movement, the Lady Gators (0-1, 7-3) also were more active on offense.
Larkin鈥檚 fastbreak layup made the score 43-36 with 4:36 left in the third quarter, but that鈥檚 as close as the Lady Gators would get with Monessen holding a 43-34 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
鈥淲e came out in the third quarter and caught fire,鈥� said Sara Larkin.
Monessen was able to fend off any late charge, closing with an 11-8 advantage in the final eight minutes.
鈥淲e spread the floor in the fourth quarter when they went man-to-man,鈥� said Vertacnik.
Hailey Johnson led the Lady Greyhounds with 23 points despite missing time due to foul trouble.
鈥淗ailey鈥檚 foul trouble hurt us,鈥� said Vertacnik.
Vertacnik said her squad left a lot of points on the floor.
鈥淲e missed too many shots. We rebounded, but we didn鈥檛 block out,鈥� said Vertacnik.
Sara Larkin noted the Lady Gators had a solid start to the season, then took a dip in recent games. She hopes to rebound with the heart of the section schedule on the near horizon.
鈥淲e started out working strong as a team. Then, we had a loll in a couple games. We stood around and watched Emma shoot the ball,鈥� said Emma Larkin. 鈥淭hey need to learn that they can鈥檛 rely on Emma (to score all the points).
鈥淭hey鈥檙e young and inexperienced. But, they鈥檙e smart enough to make the adjustments.鈥�