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Scullion, Ritchie lead way as Salem topples Mooney
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OUT OF REACH: Mooney's Jessica Farragher (11) knocks the ball away from Salem's Amy Scullion (35) during their game Monday night in Salem. The Quakers defeated the Cardinals, 53-38.
By Ryan Jones
The duo combined for 38 points as the Quakers dominated early in the 53-38 victory.
SALEM — Amy Scullion and Brittney Ritchie combined for 38 points Monday as the Salem High girls basketball team defeated Mooney, 53-38.
The Quakers surged into command, outscoring the Quakers 18-5 in the second quarter.
Salem coach Jeff Andres said his inexperienced team has played well to begin the season.
“Any win you get early in the season you’ll take,” Andres said. “We knew Mooney was physical and quick. We really set the tone on the defensive end in the first half and went from there.”
Mooney (1-2) shot 4-of-18 from the field in the first half (12-of-44 for the contest) and trailed 30-11 at the half.
Andres said he emphasizes defense to his team every single game.
“We wanted to challenge every shot, close out on their shooters and box out,” Andres said. “The girls have really bought into our principles on defense.”
Mooney coach Jack Bermann said poor shooting percentages have plagued his team early this season.
“In all three games this year, we’ve had good looks at the basket,” Bermann said. “Against Boardman and tonight, we’ve struggled to put the ball in the basket. But Salem makes you do things offensively that you don’t want to do.”
Ritchie tallied 14 of her game-high 23 points in the second half. The senior connected on 10-of-20 field goals and 3-of-5 from the line.
Andres said he is counting on Ritchie to be the second scorer.
“Last year, we saw that she was a capable scorer,” Andres said. “Opponents will be trying to take Amy [Scullion] away with double and triple teams. Brittney is a good athlete who runs the floor hard and does most of scoring inside the lane.”
Scullion stuffed the stat sheet for the Quakers (3-0) with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.
“Some people might look at Amy’s game tonight and say 15 points, she did alright,” Andres said. “But the points don’t tell the whole story.
“She’s capable of doing a little bit of everything for us. She looks to share the ball and is unquestionably the leader of our team.”
Bermann said he knew Scullion was going to be tough matchup for his team.
“We’re not blessed with a ton of height,” Bermann said. “We’re a small team that has to run up and down to win. It didn’t help us that the two players responsible for guarding Amy [Katie Griswold and Jessica Farragher] got into foul trouble in the first half.”
Ritchie added six rebounds and three steals for the Quakers, who out rebounded Mooney 34-20.
Katie Hughes led Mooney with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Andres said his squad can learn some things from the second half, where Mooney outscored the Quakers 27-23.
“We’ve need to learn how to play with a lead,” Andres said. “We forced some things on offense in the second half and had some turnovers.”