INTER-COUNTY LEAGUE Junior Amanda Nero passes 1,000 points in Lowellville victory

The win over McDonald kept the Rockets a game behind Springfield.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
LOWELLVILLE -- To Lowellville High girls basketball coach Tony Matisi, the thing that stands out most about junior Amanda Nero is her work ethic.
"What the girl does every day of the year" is what sets Nero apart, Matisi said.
"In the summer, I'll go down to the baseball field and she's out there running the bike path dribbling a basketball," Matisi said. "In the middle of July, on the hottest day of the year, she's out there."
Against McDonald on Thursday, the Rockets' third-year starter needed 21 points to reach 1,000 for her career.
Milestone moment
Despite an off night shooting -- the teams combined for 84 missed shots -- Nero netted her 22nd point with 4 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in Lowellville's 58-39 victory.
Nero's basket on a drive to the basket touched off a celebration as she joined Lisa Rotunno as the only Lowellville girls players to reach the milestone.
"I remember watching her play," Nero said of Rotunno. "She was a real role model for young girls in Lowellville."
Nero, who finished with 24 points, said she felt "relief and happiness at the same time" when the milestone basket fell through the net. "I especially wanted to get it here at home."
The win kept the Rockets (9-3, 5-1) a game behind Springfield in the Inter-County League race. South Range also is 5-1 in league play.
Nero said making sure the Rockets won dominated her thoughts for most of the game.
Tempting thought
But when the Rockets went ahead 42-21 early in the fourth quarter with her sitting on 18 points, Nero admitted getting two more baskets crossed her mind.
"Towards the end, I started thinking about it maybe a little bit too much," Nero said, "but I was mostly concentrating on getting the win."
Blanked in the first quarter after three missed 3-point attempts, Nero scored seven points in the second quarter and 11 in the third.
"All I ever wanted was to play basketball," said Nero, who also has lettered in volleyball and softball. "I love it. In the summer, I never take a day off.
"When I was little, my mom says that all I ever had in my hand was a ball -- I never had a doll."
Matisi praised her "exercise regimen. Anything that that girl accomplishes, she deserves twofold. Her work ethic is like nothing I've ever seen."
After the Rockets jumped out to a 9-2 lead thanks to two baskets each by Dana Donatelli and Kaitlin McCarthy, the Blue Devils (6-6, 2-4) battled back.
Ashleigh Tondo hit for two buckets and Michelle Krumpak sank a 3-pointer to tie the score.
The Rockets took control in the second quarter, outscoring the Blue Devils 15-4.
Encountered junk
"We hadn't seen a junk defense in awhile and it took us awhile to adjust to it," Matisi said. "In the middle of the second quarter, [senior Rebecca] Basista hit two shots in a row and that calmed us down."
Basista's scores were part of a 10-0 run that ended the half.
Dana Donatelli and Juli Peterson each finished with eight points for Lowellville.
For McDonald, Tondo scored 15 points, Amy Dolsac nine and Ashshena Stephens eight.
The Rockets missed 45 shots, including 23 from behind the arc.
"[Nero's milestone] was on everybody's minds," Matisi said. "This isn't going to be a fun tape to watch."
Except for the part where they stopped the game in the fourth quarter.
williams@vindy.com