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Matisi teams battle for first time
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South Range’s Sara Durr (34) goes up for a basket during Monday’s victory over Mineral Ridge at South Range High School. South Range won, 70-23.
By Steve Wilaj
BEAVER TOWNSHIP
South Range High girls basketball coach Tony Matisi and his son John Matisi, Mineral Ridge’s head coach, talk every day.
Sometimes it’s about daily topics.
Sometimes it’s about basketball (although they don’t discuss plays or strategy).
A lot of times, it’s about encouragement.
“He tries to pick me up,” John said in reference to the Rams’ early season struggles.
Monday, the father and son received some extra face-to-face conversation time when their teams met at South Range High.
In their first regular season matchup, the elder Matisi’s Raiders (6-0) defeated the Rams (1-5), 70-23.
“It’s just hard [to win like that] because it’s your kid,” Tony Matisi said. “I tell him to hang in there because it gets better.
“He’s made great strides and they’ve been very competitive. It’ll get better because he works hard.”
Except for the pre- and post-game hugs with his father, John – who is assisted by his brother Zach – compared it to “just another game.”
The undefeated Raiders certainly did as well, continuing their dominant early-season play.
Scalding hot in the first half, South Range jumped out to a 28-8 first quarter lead before taking a 53-11 advantage into the half.
“They made a bunch of shots early and I felt that really put us behind the eight-ball,” said John Matisi, in his second season with the Rams. “We dropped our level a little after that and they’re just such a good team.
“You have to play well for all four quarters to beat them.”
Morgan Czopur led the Raiders with 20 points while Jordan Youngs scored 12 and Starla Sharp had 10. In all, South Range shot 30 of 75 from the field.
“That was our most offensive game we’ve had in a while,” Youngs said. “We practice shooting a lot and we had more of a mindset tonight that we were going to shoot and make it. Just a lot of confidence in our shots.”
Tony Matisi, in his first year with the Raiders, said although there is still much room for improvement, everything is starting to come together.
“They’re starting to believe in themselves,” he said. “But the ceiling is so high for these girls. We haven’t even touched on some things we want to get into.”
South Range outrebounded the Rams, 35-22, and forced 27 turnovers.
“We’re starting to really know our offenses and our defenses,” Youngs said.
“Everybody is talking and keeping each other moving.”
Kayla Govemor led Mineral Ridge with 10 points, while Adrianna Reese had nine. The Rams lost starter Lauren Cameron midway through the contest with an injury, something that’s hindered the team as of late.
“We have to improve our toughness,” John Matisi said. “You almost have to have that next-person-up mentality. It’s tough when it happens, but we have to get tougher and not let those things bother us and just handle adversity a little better.”