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Czopur, Durkin lead South Range over Mooney
By Greg Gulas
BEAVER TOWNSHIP
South Range girls basketball coach Tony Matisi says that his team is still a work in progress, adding that the Raiders’ defense is what has carried them thus far in the early going.
But the offense just happened to be firing on all cylinders against Cardinal Mooney on Thursday night.
Morgan Czopur scored a game-high 25 points, Maddie Durkin added 21 and the Raiders held the Cardinals to just 11 field goals as South Range defeated Cardinal Mooney, 60-40
It was the third time this season that Czopur has led her team in scoring.
“Our practices are basically defensive practices. Coach [Matisi] preaches that defense wins games and we work really hard at our defense so we’re ready at game time,” Czopur said. “Our goal is to start fast, get out to a quick lead and then hold onto that lead. We want to win every quarter and let the rest fall into place.”
A bucket and two free throws by Czopur, and a conventional three-point play by Durkin helped the Raiders (4-0) build a 7-0 advantage a little over three minutes into the game.
They never looked back as Czopur scored eight opoints in the opening quarter, enabling South Range to open a 13-8 lead.
A Durkin bucket at 4:32 of the second quarter increased their lead to 19-13, but when Cardinal Mooney’s Maggie Monahan converted a free throw and Kelly Williams hit her only field goal of the game at the 3:01 mark, the Cardinals cut the Raiders’ lead to 19-16.
But Mooney got no closer as South Range closed the half on a 6-0 run for a 25-16 advantage at the intermission.
“We’re definitely a lot faster that we have been offensively and we’ve kicked it up a notch over the past three games,” Durkin said. “We’re playing well right now, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement, both individually and as a team.”
A Taylor Naples triple mid-way through the third quarter increased the Raiders’ lead to 35-21 and with Durkin and Czopur combining to score the other 13 points, South Range built a 41-30 cushion heading to the final quarter.
“We lost a lot offensively, so we knew that we had to build a solid defense. So far, that defense is way ahead of the offense and that is what has carried us,” Matisi said. “Our mindset and what we strive to do is to hold opponents under double digits each and every quarter.”
So far, the Raiders have won all 16 quarters they’ve played.
Matisi credits the entire team for understanding and accepting their roles, lauding the play of both Czopur and Durkin for helping them to their quick start.
“In my 24 years as a head coach, Morgan is one of just a few players with the work ethic and passion for the game. She deserves everything she gets because she never lets up — in practice or in a game,” Matisi said. “As for Maddie, she is a diamond-in-the-rough with unlimited potential and again, someone who loves the game and just wants to compete.”
Eight points by Czopur and six more by Durkin in the final period helped South Range to a 19-10 finish and their fourth straight win by at least 20 points.
“It’s tough to win a game when you’re just 11 of 46 from the field. We struggled on the boards in the first half and tried to force things that just weren’t there,” Cardinals head coach Erica Wilson said. “Things got a little too sloppy at times.”
Cardinal Mooney (0-2) was playing its first road game of the season while the Raiders won for the third straight time at home.