Moore propels Spartans to win

By Joe Scalzo

Darryce Moore scored 15 of her 25 points in the final quarter of a 57-39 win.

YOUNGSTOWN — Darryce Moore’s body was in Cardinal Mooney’s gym on Monday but her mind didn’t join her right away.

“My head wasn’t here tonight,” the Boardman junior said. “I don’t know why.”

Fortunately for the Spartans, once the fourth quarter started, Moore’s synapses started firing — and her shots started falling — as she scored 15 points in a seven-minute span, turning a close game into a comfortable 57-39 win.

“It was our first game and we didn’t do a whole lot well,” Spartans coach Ron Moschella said. “Mooney got after us, we made some bad decisions and we made way too many mistakes.

“Mooney had a lot to do with that.”

Senior Erin Brown was a bright spot for the Spartans (1-0), grabbing 10 rebounds and playing good defense in her first varsity start.

Brown, a state discus qualifier in the spring, played with more confidence and better footwork than she had in the past.

“She came to play,” Moschella said of Brown. “I think track really helped her.”

Senior Emily Abraham also played well, scoring 12 points to go along with five assists and five rebounds, while senior Katie Fiffick added nine points.

Both will need to step up this season since the Spartans are trying to replace Michigan State recruit Courtney Schiffauer (who graduated) and junior point guard Doriyon Glass (whose basketball career appears to be over after tearing her ACL for the third time).

Mooney (0-1), meanwhile, is trying to adjust to a more up-tempo style after playing a mostly half-court game last season.

The Cardinals don’t have much height — the tallest girl on the roster is 5-foot-10 freshman Katrina Larson — but they have good athleticism. They also benefit from the return of senior guard Katie Griswold, who sat out last basketball season to focus on soccer in hopes of snagging a scholarship. (She signed with Butler.)

“We did some good things,” Mooney coach Jack Bermann said. “We’re going to get better.”

Senior Katie Hughes scored 13 points to lead the Cardinals, who trimmed their deficit to 10, 36-26, early in the fourth quarter. But with no one to match up with the 6-1 Moore inside, and with the Spartans getting easy looks with their press breaker, it was just a matter of time before Boardman pulled away.

“We got it down to 10,” Bermann said. “We just couldn’t get it under 10.”

Moore’s play drew the affection of the Boardman fans — they were chanting O-H-I-O throughout the fourth quarter — and the attention of the Cardinal fans. One Mooney student even wore a Reese’s Puffs cereal box on his head.

Monday’s game was the first for Moore since she committed to Ohio State. (Her brother J.T., a junior defensive lineman for the Spartans, also committed to the Buckeyes this spring.)

Moore, who had 25 points and nine rebounds, has wanted to be a Buckeye since she was in eighth grade — she was a big fan of former OSU standout Jessica Davenport — but wasn’t able to make it official until last month.

“It’s not too far away and they have great academics there,” she said.

Her ability has never been a question — Moore has started since she was a freshman — but she’s prone to foul trouble and doesn’t yet have the killer instinct Schiffauer had.

“I just need to concentrate and listen to what Coach says,” she said.

Moschella, as always, gave Moore (and her teammates) an earful throughout the game, mindful that tonight’s contest against defending Division I state champion Hathaway Brown will be much tougher.

“Hopefully,” Moschella said, “we can improve.”

scalzo@vindy.com