Cougars end four-game skid with win over Vikings
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
Charleroi head coach writes keys to the game on the white board before every game. Wednesday’s word was confidence and it resonated with his young Cougars team.
Three players hit double figures for the Cougars as they held off a Mt. Pleasant rally to top the Vikings, 53-42, in nonsection play to snap a four-game losing streak.
Charleroi outscored the Vikings, 34-13, in the first half.
“The biggest thing is we made shots,” Charleroi head coach Bill Wagner said. “That’s how you win the game, right? So that was the best thing. We hit some shots early on and it really gave our girls confidence throughout the game.”
Starting out the hottest for the Cougars was sophomore Leena Henderson. She scored 10 points in the opening seven minutes of the game, including consecutive 3-pointers. She ended the game with a team-high 15 points.
“Leena hitting those shots did a lot for her,” Wagner said. “And it gave everyone else a boost. It was nice to jump out to a big lead like that.”
The Cougars led 16-7 at the end of the first.
Freshman Bella Carroto, who finished with a double-double, scored eight straight Cougars’ points between the two quarters to give her team a 20-11 lead with 4:45 to play in the half. She finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“Bella showed she can do a lot for us,” Wagner said. “She hit jump shots, she drove to the basket and she hit her free throws. She played really strong tonight.”
The Cougars (3-6) were able to take advantage of a number of Vikings’ turnovers and end the first half on a 16-2 run. After Carroto’s spurt, Riley Jones scored the next seven points and McKenna “Boots” DeUnger scored the final seven points of the half. She joined Carroto with 14 points.
“We’ve really started slow when we play on the road,” Mt. Pleasant head coach Scott Giacobbi said. “We have to learn that you can’t do that. We turned the ball over way too much,”
Tiffany Zelmore led the Vikings with a game-high 28 points, carrying the team on her back as second-leading scorer Hannah Gesinski was in foul trouble most of the game.
“With Hannah on the bench, we tried to force too many things inside and they ended up being turnovers,” Giacobbi said.”
The Vikings (4-5) held the Cougars to only three field goals in the third quarter, but were unable to take advantage of Charleroi’s turnovers and turn them into points. Yet their scoring went up behind the tough play of Zelmore inside.
Trailing 47-25 heading into the fourth, Mt. Pleasant went to work.
The Vikings started the final frame with a 12-0 run to cut the Cougars’ lead to 48-37. Eight of those 12 points came from Zelmore in the post.
The lead got down to 10 after a Zelmore basket with 2:40 to go, but the rally was squashed by Henderson. She hit 5 of 8 from the line in the final three minutes.
“If we play the first half like we did the second half, that’s a different game for sure,” Giacobbi said. “We can’t come out early in these games and let the game get away from us. We just came out so flat and it took us into the third quarter to get a spark.
“It’s a little agitating, we just have to bring it on earlier.”
For the Cougars, Wagner is hopeful the team’s lift carries over into tonight’s game against McGuffey.
“We needed a boost. We needed to end the skid and we did,” Wagner said. “It’s all about our confidence building and keeping it going.”
