Experienced Cal, Boda run through young Cougars

By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
Monday’s nonsection tilt between Charleroi and California turned into the game when a team of upperclassmen face a team of inexperienced underclassmen.
The Trojans took advantage of a plethora of turnovers, poor foul shooting and lack of execution offensively and defensively, to run over the Cougars, 47-33.
“It’s tough because in the timeouts I was telling them, ‘Let’s run our offense. Let’s run ours like they’re running theirs,’” Charleroi head coach Bill Wagner said. “But they rush and push themselves to do things instead of taking a brief second to gather themselves. They have to understand this isn’t middle school. They’re out here playing against seniors and juniors and they’re just content to do what they’re doing.”
The Trojans (2-0) continue to work in junior Kendelle Weston, a transfer from Monessen, and she’s fitting in just fine with her new squad.
Weston and Makayla Boda combined to score nine of the Trojans’ 11 first-quarter points as they jumped out to an 11-6 lead after the first quarter.
“Adding Kendelle really gives us that inside-outside combo with Makayla,” California head coach Chris Niemiec said. “Both can attack the basket and Kendelle is a threat to shoot it outside.”
Things didn’t get easier for the Cougars in the second quarter as they only managed four points and found themselves trailing 23-10 at the half.
Jordyn Cruse scored four of her 10 points in the final 1:15 of the second quarter.
“I’m really impressed with the legs we’ve had in these first two games,” Niemiec said. “Think about it. We had one practice in November, then nothing until a couple weeks ago.
“But I couldn’t be happier with our bench. Early on, I didn’t think we’d be able to go eight or nine deep. They’ve been great and they’re getting a basket here and there.”
Baskets were no problem throughout for Boda. A track star for the Trojans, the small but mighty guard made play difficult for Charleroi leading scorer McKenna DeUnger.
DeUnger came in averaging 16.3 points per game, and managed eight in the second half. But Boda’s speed helped her turn numerous turnovers into easy transition baskets and she took advantage of some pass attempts forced to DeUnger.
“It’s a no-brainer putting her at the top of our defense,” Niemiec said. “She can go from defense to offense and score in a matter of three seconds.”
Boda scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half, scoring on all layups except one free throw and a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
“We couldn’t get the ball inbounds. We had a couple chances at a runout, but we fall in love with lob passes instead of hitting the angles and making good passes,” Wagner said.
A 7-0 run midway through the third quarter pushed the Trojans’ lead to 33-16. It ended up 36-21 at the end of three.
“They were doing a great job running their offense and getting good shots,” Wagner said of California. “They did a good job penetrating, and when we did have good help defense, they were able to kick it out. They shot the ball really well.”
The Trojans hit six 3-pointers in the game.
Cougars freshman Riley Jones finished with a double-double, scoring 13 points and finishing with 11 rebounds. Jones scored seven points in the fourth as the Cougars were able to cut the lead down to 40-31 with two minutes to play.
Cruse ended the threat with a dagger 3-pointer from the corner and Boda added another two layups in the final minute.
“We’ve lost a couple players after last season but we were able to fill those spots with some good players,” Niemiec said. “It’s great knowing they’re only going to get better as a team as the season wears on.”
The Trojans are back in action at home tonight against Avella. The Cougars will regroup and host Waynesburg Central Thursday.