GIRLS BASKETBALL New Castle off to 9-0 start after beating Sharon

For Sharon, Nicole Valentino led all scorers in the game with 14 points, 10 of which came in the final period.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Nine have tried but have fallen short.
After Wednesday night, Sharon High was added to the list of New Castle basketball victims, as the Hurricanes overcame a sluggish start to defeat the Tigers, 65-37, in a girls non-conference game.
"I think they were looking ahead to tomorrow night's game," said New Castle coach Luann Grybowski, about her team's crucial meeting with North Allegheny. "I warned them of that [looking ahead] and for the first quarter and half of the second, they just weren't in the game."
New Castle opened a 7-1 lead during the first three minutes of the game, but Sharon (5-4) answered, outscoring its hosts 11-5 for a 12-12 tie at the end of one period. The Tigers completed their 8-0 run on four points by Janine McDonald to open the second period to take a 16-12 advantage.
Tired
"This is our sixth game in 10 days, five on the road, so we are tired," said first-year Sharon coach Maureen O'Brien. "Our kids are pretty much beat up and we are just looking forward to playing at home."
Trailing by four points with six minutes remaining in the first half, New Castle (9-0) put together an 11-0 run to open a 23-16 lead with two minutes to go and the Hurricanes never looked back.
"We finally started to go midway through the second quarter," said Grybowski about her team's run. "At halftime, all I did was remind them that we needed to execute at the offensive end against the zone. We haven't seen much of that [zone defense] this year, so that was an adjustment for us."
Depth and balance were two big keys to the Hurricanes' win as only two players -- Tarina Nixon (12 points) and Jaleah Robinson (11) -- scored in double figures, and 10 New Castle players dented the scoring column.
"I told the kids coming into this year that we have a lot of kids who can play, and right now we can play eight or nine different people and not lose anything," said Grybowski. "I think we have a lot of strengths because we have good team speed as well as both an inside [Robinson] and outside [Nixon] game."
When asked if she is surprised at the Hurricanes' fast start, Grybowski was quick with a response.
Attributes
"To be quite honest about it, no," she said. "These kids have great athletic ability, team unity, nobody is selfish with the ball, they work hard and love to play the game. I knew coming in that everybody could contribute in some way."
For Sharon, Nicole Valentino led all scorers in the game with 14 points, 10 of which came in the final period.
"I think she is trying to take the leadership of the team on her shoulders and that is a lot to ask of anybody," said O'Brien. "We need the other girls to step up because that isn't going to always work. For the most part, they have done that and that is why we have won four out of our last five."