Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Streetsboro beat Niles 56-47 in the other semifinal.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- Salem High senior Sarah Ravelli entered Wednesday's Division II sectional opener against Mooney with a little extra motivation.
"We knew they wanted to play us," she said. "They had any choice [in the tournament draw] and they picked us."
And the Quakers responded, especially on defense.
Ravelli scored a game-high 11 points and Salem forced 31 turnovers en route to a 44-19 win over the Cardinals at Fitch High.
Kelly Roelen added 11 points, while Zahra Scullion had four rebounds and five steals for the second-seeded Quakers (16-5), who will play Streetsboro (13-8) in a sectional final at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Fitch High.
The Rockets beat Niles 56-47 in Wednesday's second game.
"I think we did a lot of nice things," said Salem coach Steve Stewart. "We certainly created a lot of turnovers and I was pleased with our defense."
Winning ugly
It wasn't a pretty game. The Quakers had 26 turnovers and, at one point in the second quarter, the two teams committed turnovers on 11 consecutive possessions.
"We had a long layoff coming in," said Stewart, whose team last played on Feb. 14. "I think that played a part."
Salem jumped out to a 7-0 lead to open the game (Mooney opened with five straight turnovers) and never trailed. It was Mooney's lowest point total of the season and the lowest for a Salem opponent this season.
"Everyone played well," said Ravelli. "It was good team defense."
The Cardinals (8-13) shot just 8 of 40 from the field (20 percent), while Salem made 17 of 38 (45 percent).
"We shot the ball better offensively, especially from the outside," said Stewart. "It's been a concern, especially late in the season, but we shot well tonight and that was encouraging."
The Quakers played especially well in the third quarter, outscoring Mooney 17-6, while shooting 7 of 12 from the field.
"At the end of the second quarter, we weren't executing and we weren't running our plays," said Ravelli. "In the second half, we came out and did what we needed to do."
Sophomore Dayna Daltorio had seven points and four rebounds for Mooney, while sophomore Katy Cerni had seven points and five steals.
Streetsboro-Niles
As his team was walking into the locker room at halftime, Streetsboro coach John Zelenak looked at one of his assistants and said, "They got one stinkin' shooter and she's killing us right now. She's got half their points."
Well, yes and no.
Niles sophomore Nina Gabrelcik was killing the Rockets, but she only had eight of the Red Dragons' 21 points as they trailed 26-21.
Gabrelcik added seven more in the second half for the Red Dragons (8-13), but it wasn't enough as Streetsboro finished the fourth quarter on a 19-5 run.
Six-foot senior center Kim Taylor scored 18 points for the Rockets, who trailed 42-37 in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. Senior guard Tabby Richardson added 15 points, nine rebounds, four steals and four assists, while sophomore Kaylene Way had 13 points.
Kelly Leonard had nine points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Red Dragons, while Jessica Pallante had nine points and eight assists.
scalzo@vindy.com