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United turns to defense to beat Mooney
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
The United High girls basketball team turned a 12-7 first quarter deficit into a 53-20 game-ending run as they defeated the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals, 60-32, in the season opener for both schools Friday.
Scoring just two buckets in the opening period, the Eagles’ defense held the Cardinals to just four total buckets — two in the entire second half — over the final 24 minutes of play.
“We started rather slow and weren’t exactly where we should have been offensively in the opening period,” said United coach Roger Zeigler.
“We made a few adjustments and made a couple of substitutions after the period which really made us a quicker club offensively. That was the key for us tonight,” Zeigler added. “It was a great way to start the season.”
Dina Daltorio scored six of Cardinal Mooney’s first eight points of the game allowing the Cardinals to build a 9-2 advantage at the midway point of the quarter.
United’s Sierra Parks then scored four of her game-high 16 points to key a 5-3 run as the Eagles pulled to within 12-7 after the opening stanza.
Parks, who was accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy a little over a week ago and will start her military career this summer, was happy just to get the first quarter concluded.
“When I got my letter from the U.S. Naval Academy I made my mother open it and read it first,” said Parks. “I was hoping it was an acceptance letter and when she confirmed that it was, I hurried up and signed it then sent it back immediately so I wouldn’t lose my place.
“We definitely had pre-game jitters and everyone was happy just to get the quarter out of the way,” she added.
“We had free throw issues last season and the entire team did a lot of extra work in all areas of their game in the offseason; most especially with their free throws,” Parks said.
Ruth Prosko, who was the only other player on either team to score in double figures on the night, had seven of her 13 points in the second period as the Eagles outscored the Cardinals, 22-8 to forge a 29-20 lead at the intermission.
Bill Ritter, who was making his head coaching debut at Cardinal Mooney, was disappointed at the outcome after such a fast start.
“The bottom line is that we started fast and they closed fast,” he said. “We had entirely too many turnovers, missed too many free throws and must learn how to handle the pressure when we are pressed.”
Emily Zehentbauer’s five points after intermission helped the Eagles build a 44-24 lead after three periods while seven United players contributed to a 16-8 fourth quarter advantage.
While the Eagles made 15 of their 19 free throw attempts, the Cardinals struggled at the charity stripe, connecting on just 14 of 28 free throw attempts.
United’s MacKenzie Gatchell connected on the only 3-pointer of the game, that coming right before halftime.