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Yankle passes 1,000 career points
Mooney celebrated milestone during loss to CCC
By Curtis Pulliam
Youngstown
Needing one point to get to 1,000 for her career, Cardinal Mooney senior Jaclyn Yankle wanted to make sure she achieved the milestone in front of the home crowd.
With 5:33 remaining and the Cardinals trailing 31-20, Yankle drilled a contested 3-pointer to make her the seventh girl in Mooney history to top 1,000.
“I know it is such an honor to get it so I was really pushing and striving for that all season,” Yankle said. “I never thought I would make it to this point.”
Yankle finished with 15 points on Saturday but Mooney fell to Canton Central Catholic, 46-34. The loss couldn’t take the smile off of Yankle’s face.
“It was like the best feeling,” said Yankle after hitting the shot. “I give so much credit to all my teammates and coaches. I couldn’t have made it here without them.”
The game was stopped briefly to celebrate Yankle’s accomplishment. Yankle received a bouquet of flowers and hugs from family members.
The biggest difference was the Crusaders held the Cardinals to 29.4 percent shooting from the field and forced 25 turnovers with a smothering zone defense.
“We have defended well all year,” Crusaders head coach Gary Isler said. “We have been going with a lot of zone lately and that seemed to boggle them up.”
Mooney head coach Erica Wilson said the Crusaders’ defense wasn’t the only reason for all the turnovers.
“Honestly they’re a very solid defensive team but we did not attack their zone the way we should have been,” Wilson said.
Both teams got off to slow starts. Yankle hit a 3-pointer at the 3:30 mark in the first to give Mooney a 3-2 lead.
The second quarter was when the game turned the Crusaders’ way. After forcing numerous turnovers, the Crusaders outscored the Cardinals 18-5 for a 24-10 halftime lead.
“It was that second quarter,” Wilson said. “The first, third and fourth quarters were a totally different game.”
The Cardinals (7-11) had seven turnovers from freshman point guard Kelly Williams in the quarter.
But Wilson knows it comes with youth.
“She’s doing a great job,” Wilson said. “It’s just growing pains. She has a killer crossover, she’s a good shooter. But it is just adjusting to defenses on a daily basis. It’s all part of the growing process.”
For the Crusaders (11-7) Hanna Risaliti had a big game scoring a game-high 22 points. Nine of those were in the second quarter.
“She stepped up big,” Isler said. “She is capable of that. We have been dealing with her confidence. I think maybe she got over that barrier a little bit today.”
As for Yankle, Isler was glad to see her get the feat.
“That was a great way to do it,” Isler said. “We had a hand in her face, but she’s a good player.”
Going into the game, Wilson realized the Yankle’s chasing caused added pressure to the team.
“I think we had a lot of nerves in regards to Jaclyn and getting her points,” Wilson said. “She wasn’t worried about it though, she’s very team-oriented.”
Yankle thought the whole thing was surreal.
“It was such a good feeling,” Yankle said. “I’ll remember it forever.”