Lady Raiders roll past Carmichaels, 67-20 (copy)
Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Clara Paige Miller scores against Carmichaels during Saturday afternoon鈥檚 game at Waynesburg. (Photo by Rob Burchianti)
Carmichaels鈥� Sophia Zalar (right) defends Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Kaley Rohanna during Saturday afternoon鈥檚 game at Waynesburg. (Photo by Rob Burchianti)
Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Emma Kindervater (2) leaps to challenge a jump shot by Carmichaels鈥� Emma Holaren during Saturday afternoon鈥檚 game at Waynesburg. (Photo by Rob Burchianti)
Rob Burchianti | 缅北禁地
Rob Burchianti | 缅北禁地
Carmichaels鈥� Emma Hyatt grabs a rebound between Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Josie Horne (20) and Haley Pace (30) during Saturday afternoon鈥檚 game at Waynesburg.
Rob Burchianti | 缅北禁地
Rob Burchianti | 缅北禁地
Carmichaels鈥� Emma Holaren (23) looks behind her as she tries to get back on defense while Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Brenna Benke quickly dribbles up court during Saturday afternoon鈥檚 game at Waynesburg.
Rob Burchianti | 缅北禁地
Carmichaels鈥� Mia Ranieri (40) looks for a teammate to pass to after diving on the floor to grab a loose ball against Waynesburg Central during Saturday afternoon鈥檚 game at Waynesburg.
WAYNESBURG 鈥� Waynesburg Central jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in defeating visiting Carmichaels, 67-20, in a non-section girls basketball game Saturday afternoon.
Freshman Kaley Rohanna scored 11 of her game-high 20 points in the first quarter and Clara Paige Miller added 15 points as the Lady Raiders improved to 2-0 in both teams鈥� first game since winter season activities resumed last Monday.
Waynesburg (2-0) won at Frazier, 62-36, on Dec. 11 before Gov. Wolf delayed the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lady Raiders have now topped 60 points twice after not doing so in any game last season.
Waynesburg head coach Dave Sarra and his daughter, junior guard Nina Sarra, were not available for the game. Lady Raiders assistant coach Natalie Blair guided the team against the Lady Mikes.
鈥淚 think the girls did a really good job of coming in the gym these four days that we were able to practice and focusing and getting back into it,鈥� Blair said. 鈥淭hey went out there and played as well as could be expected in the situation we鈥檙e in.鈥�
Waynesburg鈥檚 pressure defense forced a slew of early turnovers by Carmichaels as the hosts took a 22-5 lead after one quarter.
鈥淲e were doing a three-quarter court press and pressuring the ball and we were able to get some steals and some transition baskets,鈥� Blair said.
Several of those turnovers turned into layups for Rohanna.
鈥淭hey did play very tough defense on us but our girls were definitely nervous at the beginning,鈥� said first-year Carmichaels coach Chelsea Ulery. 鈥淚 think once they settled down they started to shoot more and play the game a lot better. We do have to figure out how to get the ball around on offense.鈥�
Ulery was impressed with Rohanna who was 5-for-5 from the foul line and hit one 3-pointer.
鈥淭heir point guard was very good,鈥� Ulery said. 鈥淪he definitely had an impact.鈥�
Rohanna wasn鈥檛 the only freshman who hurt the Lady Mikes as Addison Blair also hit double digits with 10 points.
All 11 of Waynesburg鈥檚 players saw action as the Lady Raiders extended their lead to 37-13 at halftime and 50-17 after three quarters.
鈥淭hese girls have been showing up every day in the gym and working hard so it was nice to be able to get everyone in the game and get some playing time,鈥� coach Blair said.
鈥淚t was a great team effort today.鈥�
Waynesburg put nine players in the scoring column with Riley Moreland tallying seven points, followed by Brenna Benke with five, Colleen Lemley with four and Emma Kindervater, Lily Rush and Emily Bennett each with two points.
A bright spot for the Lady Mikes was Mia Ranieri who made a 3-pointer and all six of her free throws in scoring 11 points before fouling out.
鈥淢ia鈥檚 the leader,鈥� Ulery pointed out. 鈥淪he can do it all. She did very well. She鈥檚 a tough girl.鈥�
The Lady Mikes played hard the entire game despite having only six players. Emma Hyatt followed Ranieri with five points, Emma Holaren added three and Sophia Zalar had one.
While the Lady Raiders have two games under their belt it was the first for Carmichaels.
鈥淭his week was the first week we actually had all of our girls come to practice,鈥� Ulery said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very tough after that long of a break. We had to get a lot in in a short period of time, and I鈥檓 sure it was the same for a lot of teams.
鈥淚 think now that we鈥檝e got through a game we鈥檒l do a lot better.鈥�
Both teams are back in action Monday night. Carmichaels begins Section 2-AA play at home against Seton LaSalle while Waynesburg plays its Section 3-AA opener at Washington.