Lady Pioneers’ pressure nets 71-41 victory
Monessen鈥檚 MyAsia Majors (24), Sydney Caterino (2) and Mercedes Majors (3) try to stop West Greene鈥檚 Jersey Wise as she drives to the basket in Thursday鈥檚 Section 2-A game at Monessen. Wise scored a game-high 27 points in the Lady Pioneers鈥� 71-41 win. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
West Greene鈥檚 Katie Lampe makes a pass around the Lady Greyhounds鈥� Kinsey Wilson during Thursday鈥檚 Section 2-A game at Monessen. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
The Lady Greyhounds鈥� Sydney Caterino drives around West Greene鈥檚 Kaytlynn Walls (24) during Thursday鈥檚 Section 2-A game at Monessen. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
West Greene鈥檚 Brooke Barner makes a pass through the Lady Greyhounds鈥� Kinsey Wilson (23) and Hailey Johnson (5) during Thursday鈥檚 Section 2-A game at Monessen. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
MONESSEN 鈥� The West Greene girls won their 48th consecutive section game Thursday night with a 71-41 Section 2-A victory over Monessen.
鈥淲e shot pretty well, and our defensive intensity was better in the second half,鈥� said West Greene coach Jordan Watson. 鈥淲e are starting to get our legs back under us and get into a rhythm.鈥�
Monessen coach Janine Vertacnik knew what to expect from West Greene, but still came away impressed.
鈥淭here is a reason they have played for WPIAL championships in recent seasons,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey were on tonight and are a talented team.鈥�
Jersey Wise made six 3-pointers to lead West Greene (3-0, 4-2) with 27 points.
鈥淲e want to get 40-plus combined every night from Jersey, Elizabeth (Brudnock) and Anna (Durbin),鈥� said Watson. 鈥淭hey had 47 tonight. We had three in double figures and two with eight.鈥�
Durbin finished with 12, Brooke Barner had 10, and Brudnock and Kaytlynn Walls each scored eight.
When Monessen鈥檚 Mercedes Majors made a shot to give Monessen (3-1, 3-1) a 5-4 lead with 6:10 to go in the first quarter, Watson called a timeout to light a fire under his flat team.
鈥淲e came out not ready to play,鈥� said Watson. 鈥淲e talked about the whole year, it isn鈥檛 going to change with the pandemic and there won鈥檛 be fans, so we have to create our own energy.鈥�
It took a few more minutes, but the talk worked.
With the game tied 8-8, West Greene went on 11-2 run to build a 19-10 lead. However, Monessen closed on a 5-0 run to trim the West Greene lead to 19-15 heading into the second quarter.
After making three 3-pointers in the first quarter, the Lady Pioneers stayed hot from long distance with four more in the second quarter. They also continued to use their full-court pressure to gain distance from Monessen.
Wise scored 12 points in the second quarter to lead the Lady Pioneers to a 22-10 advantage in the quarter and a 41-25 lead at halftime.
West Greene pulled away in the second half as it used its patented press 鈥� the Lady Pioneers are referred to as 鈥淧ress Greene鈥� 鈥� to force Monessen into 15 of its 31 turnovers.
鈥淲e have seven different versions (of the press) and we used four, maybe five tonight,鈥� Watson said while wearing a 鈥淧ress Greene鈥� pullover after the game. 鈥淲e wanted to give them different looks, but the common denominator is ball pressure, and we don鈥檛 want them walking the ball up or being comfortable.鈥�
Vertacnik said she was disappointed in her upperclassmen, but said the Lady Greyhounds will learn from playing against such a talented team.
鈥淥ur veterans didn鈥檛 come through. Instead of being leaders, they panicked,鈥� said Vertacnik. 鈥淏ut, overall, we did not quit, and our younger girls picked up valuable minutes. We aren鈥檛 going to win every game, but we will keep working to get better.鈥�
Majors, Sydney Caterino and Hayley Johnson each scored 11 points for Monessen, with Caterino adding four steals and four assists.