STEEL VALLEY CONFERENCE Dixon scores career-high 30 points

Warren Harding's downfall was turnovers: the Raiders committed 22 as compared to Cardinal Mooney's 11.
By BOB ROTH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
WARREN -- This time, Mooney High turned the tables.
The last time the Cardinals' girls basketball team played Warren Harding, they forced 30 turnovers but the Raiders eked out a 44-43 victory.
The rematch was Thursday at Harding Fieldhouse, where 6-foot-1 junior Aieshya Dixon scored a career-high 30 points and added 19 rebounds in the Cardinals' 67-39 victory in a Steel Valley Conference game.
Mooney (8-5, 1-4 SVC) out-scored the Raiders 25-6 in the third quarter to take control.
The Cardinals led 21-20 at halftime, and three baskets by Dixon staked them to a 29-22 edge early in the third period. After a free throw by Warren's Leigh Carlson, Dixon went end-to-end with a steal and lay-up to put Mooney ahead 31-23.
She finished with 16 points in the quarter.
Motivation: "I felt I could get loose inside and I really wanted this win, so I kept on thinking: don't get tired and keep playing hard," said Dixon.
"Aieshya played as well as she has all season," added Mooney coach Roy Nard.
"It felt good to finally break the ice and get a conference win. The best thing about this game was having the entire team on the floor with defense and their transition game, playing as well as they can in the third quarter."
Seven players scored for Mooney, including 5-7 guard senior captain Lori Patrone, who had 10 points, eight assists and five steals.
Patrone recalled that, in the December loss to Warren Harding, Dixon was held to eight points.
"It took a while for us to get started, but once we got going we were able to put them away," said Patrone.
The Raiders (4-8, 1-4) were led by Carlson, a senior who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Desirae Jenkins added 10 points.
Warren Harding's downfall was turnovers: the Raiders committed 22 as compared to Mooney's 11.
Eight of them came in that third quarter, with all of them resulting in scores for the Cardinals.
"We came to the second half with a complete lack of intensity," said Warren Harding coach P.J. Notar.