TAC GIRLS Hunkus sparks Girard to 63-50 win over Liberty

The senior led four players in double figures as the Indians improved to 7-1.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Tealle Hunkus had 20 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double, as the Girard High girls basketball team defeated Liberty 63-50 in Trumbull Athletic Conference action Monday at Liberty High.
Hunkus led four Indians in double figures -- Cachet Murray added 16, Jen Maravola 13 and Bree Longberry 10 -- offsetting a game-high 31 points by Liberty senior Jessica White.
"Jessica White gave us fits tonight," Girard coach Andy Saxon said. "She is so tough to guard. We did a better job on her when we double-teamed her. Our size, combined with our ability to get the ball inside tonight, however, really helped us in setting the tempo of the game."
The Indians (7-1, 6-1) won their third straight. The Leopards (6-3, 4-2) lost for the first time in four games.
"We were outhustled tonight," Liberty coach John Hritz said. "They got back faster than us all night, so you have to take your hats off to their hustle. They have tremendous athletes and their size really hurt us."
Leopards led only once
White's 3-point goal 1 minute, 22 seconds into the game gave the Leopards a 3-2 lead. It was the only time that Liberty would enjoy the lead in the game.
Hunkus had seven points in the opening quarter and Longberry added six, the two Indians keying an 11-0 run as Girard built a 21-10 advantage after the first quarter.
Maravola got hot in the second period, scoring six of her 13 points, as the Indians outscored the Leopards 15-11 and took a 36-21 lead at halftime.
"A balanced scoring attack has been the key to our success this season," Saxon said. "It's been tough for an opponent to isolate on just one of our players. Tonight was a battle of two very quick teams. Size, however, was a major player in the outcome of the game."
Despite a 15-point deficit at halftime, the Leopards refused to quit. Liberty went on a 10-0 run (keyed by five points from White) to cut the Indian lead to 38-33.
Murray leads 12-0 run
When Murray scored seven of her 16 points in the third period, the Indians went on a 12-0 run of their own to end the period as they took a 50-33 lead into the final quarter.
White then scored five points at the outset of the final quarter, with the Leopards scoring the first nine points of the final period, to cut the Girard lead to 50-41. That would be the closest they could get the rest of the way despite a 10-point performance by White in the quarter.
"In regards to Jessica White, she comes to play each and every game and tonight she did everything in her power to keep us within striking distance," Hritz said.
The Indians canned 24 of 57 field goal attempts and an impressive four of five from beyond the arc. The Leopards were 17 of 41 from the field and seven of 12 from 3-point range.