Sams' 25 points spark New Castle to 23rd victory

The Hurricanes' best player scored nine points down the stretch.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANONSBURG, Pa. -- The New Castle High girls basketball team's 59-42 victory Friday over Woodland Hills was not your typical 17-point game.
"It absolutely was [closer]," New Castle coach Luann Grybowski. "You have to give them credit because they came out in the second half, played hard and cut our lead down to almost nothing. I looked up at the clock and said to myself, 'Holy heck, what happened.' "
For much of the first three periods, New Castle (23-3) maintained a lead in the 8-10 point range, with the Hurricanes holding onto a 37-27 advantage heading into the final period.
That is when things got interesting for the Hurricanes as the Wolverines (15-10) reeled off eight straight points to cut the New Castle lead to 39-38.
"We got a little complacent in that stretch of the game," Grybowski said. "When we get complacent, we just stand around."
The Hurricanes responded to the Woodland Hills' offensive spurt by tallying the next 10 points. From there, they pulled away to the final 17-point margin.
Sams pours in 23 points
Jalessa Sams again eclipsed the 20-point mark for New Castle with a game-high 23 points, which came on the heels of her 25-point effort in the win over Upper St. Clair,
Despite having to deal with just about every type of defense Woodland Hills threw her way, Sams rose to the occasion to score nine of her game total down the stretch.
"They played a lot of different defenses against me so it was just a matter of my adjusting to whatever it was," Sams said.
Grybowski said Sams "had another outstanding game for us, but in the end, it was a team effort."
Although New Castle led for most of the game, the Hurricanes had to overcome a few obstacles to get the job done.
Fouls hamper 'Canes
Personal fouls were a problem as they were whistled for a half dozen miscues to one foul for the Wolverines midway through the second quarter.
Logan Hartman was the recipient of three of the calls in the first half and had to spend a lot of time on the bench. That gave the Hurricane reserves a chance to respond and they did so in fine fashion.
Abby Allen came off the bench to score eight points for New Castle, while Shirl Jones but provided a lot of solid floor game for the Hurricanes.
Although Sams was the only Hurricane in double figures, she got plenty of support from Nikki Karatinos (nine points), Allen (eight) and Ryenn Micaletti (seven).
For Woodland Hills, Monica Jones finished with a team-high 16 points.
Support from bench
Grybowski said Allen "came off the bench and gave us some quality minutes. We have been waiting for that to happen.
"As for Jones, she is always undersized when we ask her to play inside, but she always manages to somehow get the job done."