Hull shoots E.P. past JFK, 66-46

By Jim Flick

WARREN — Breanne Hull sank a school-record seven 3-point shots Tuesday night to lead the East Palestine High girls basketball team to a 66-46 victory over Warren JFK.

Hull was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points. She sat down for the night midway through the fourth quarter after sinking her seventh 3-pointer to boost the Bulldogs’ lead to 57-33.

“She was outstanding, so we just let her keep shooting,” said East Palestine coach Walt Herriot.

Warren JFK coach John Baytos said he was quite impressed with Hull’s sharp shooting.

“When you make seven 3-pointers, it’s no accident,” he said.

East Palestine point guard Emily Casto added 16 points as she ran an effective offense that sank 28 of 54 field goals.

Six other players scored for the Bulldogs (1-0) as they opened their season with a victory on the road. Brooke Duffy led the team with seven rebounds, while Kali George retrieved six missed shots.

“I told the girls we’d shoot the ball and have fun,” said Herriot, a veteran coach now in his rookie season at East Palestine.

“We made a lot of shots and played well inside,” he added. “Everyone contributed. We’re pleased, but we’ve got a lot of tough games ahead.”

Herriot commended Hull’s sharp shooting as the key to his team’s success.

But he also praised the strong performance turned in by Casto. After she scored on several strong drives to the hoop, Herriot said, Warren JFK (1-1) changed its defensive alignment to target East Palestine’s point guard, but still couldn’t stop Casto.

“That defense didn’t hurt her at all,” Herriot said.

“I want to give East Palestine a heck of a compliment,” said Baytos. “They made shots, they played great on defense.”

In the face of East Palestine’s tenacious defense, Warren JFK sank only 14 of 54 field goal attempts.

“We hung in there, and we got off our shots. We’ve just got to convert more shots,” Baytos added. “We had better ball movement in the second half.”

Pagie Klaric led Warren JFK, scoring 11 points, while Kelsie Massacci contributed 10 points.

East Palestine controlled the game’s opening tip-off and Casto fed the ball to Hull — who scored the game’s first points with her first 3-pointer.

Casto’s strong offensive efforts also started early. She drove to the basket and scored to give Palestine a 12-4 first quarter lead.

East Palestine’s lead hit double digits late in the second quarter after Casto sank a layup to put the Bulldogs ahead 29-19. In fact, the basket also put Casto’s scoring total into double digits, giving her 10 points before halftime.

East Palestine outscored Warren JFK 19-9 in the second quarter and led 33-19 at halftime.

The Bulldogs continued their torrid shooting in the third quarter, taking a 49-30 advantage.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Hull scored her sixth and seventh 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give East Palestine its biggest lead of the night, 57-33.

With the outcome assured, Hull then took the rest of the night off.