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South Range fends off Shenango at Covelli
By BRIAN DZENIS
YOUNGSTOWN
The South Range girls basketball team has won a lot of games this season, but lately the margin of victory has been smaller than what coach Tony Matisi has expected.
At the Covelli Centre on Saturday as part of the Fifth annual Larricia’s “See Them Rise” Showcase, the Raiders held off a late charge from Shenango to win, 53-47. The 15-2 Raiders led by double figures most of the way before the Wildcats (9-7) mounted a serious comeback in the fourth quarter.
“We couldn’t stand prosperity. It’s been our bugaboo the last four games,” Matisi said. “You get a nice comfortable lead, you sit back and relax and then bang — I hope it doesn’t bite us.”
Matisi’s team carried a 43-28 lead into the fourth quarter thanks to great shooting from senior guard Morgan Czopur, who finished the game with a team-high 24 points.
Over the course of the second and third quarters, Czopur made four 3-pointers and was an aggressive on-ball defender who earned fast-break points, gathering 18 of her 24 in that stretch.
“We always find a way to pull it out. We work together as a team and we always come back,” Czopur said. “We had to stick with them on defense. When they picked, we would double team them. On offense, we just pushed it.”
Czopur efforts earned her The Vindicator’s John Kovach Award. On Jan. 14 in a win against Springfield, she crossed the 1,000 career points mark.
“I tried not to think about it too much because I didn’t want to get too worked up about it,” Czopur said of the milestone. “I have a great team, our team tries as best as we can to get everyone the ball.”
Of Czopur, Matisi said: “I’ve had her for three years. You never have to worry about the effort or the focus. She’s going to go out and give you solid defense and offense.
“Any kind of accolades is deserved and you love it when good kids are recognized. She’s been super for us for three years.”
Sophomore Maddie Durkin also had a good offensive day for the Raiders, finishing with 15 points.
Shenango’s offense was a bit sluggish most of the game, failing to score in double digits in both the first and third quarters, but came alive in the fourth.
Forcing her way to the free throw line, the Wildcats’ Angelina Sibeto scored seven of her team-leading 18 points in the final frame to lead the charge.
A three each from Carolyn Peterson and Emma Rich ensured South Range had to sweat out the final few minutes. Matisi said his team needs to work on the mental side of the game at this point in the season.
“We still do dumb things,” Matisi said. “We still don’t understand time and score; situations like when you have a lead and you’re shooting threes off of one pass instead of working [the ball].”
The Raiders put 10 points in the fourth quarter, with most of them coming from free throws split among Czopur, Durkin, Sammy Patrone, Taylor Naples and Lynnie Ritter. The group went a combined 8-for-11 from the line while Durkin had the team’s final basket.
South Range won the first high school game of the showcase.
“It was a cool experience,” Czopur said of playing in the arena. “It was a fun time and I know our team enjoyed it.”