Scotties’ pressure presents problems for Warriors
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
Southmoreland head coach Amber Cernuto knew her team had a critical stretch of three games. It started with Belle Vernon last week, then West Mifflin Monday and ended Thursday with Elizabeth Forward.
All three ended up as Southmoreland wins as the Scotties finished up their coach’s gauntlet with a 66-51 win over the Warriors.
The average margin of victory was 13.6 points.
“I’m not taking anything away from other teams, but we knew if we wanted to get where we need to be this stretch of games was important,” Cernuto said. “Belle Vernon, West Mifflin and Elizabeth Forward have great programs. EF has a bunch of young players and great shooters. We knew they could give us some issues.”
It was the Scotties (8-2, 7-1) creating issues for the Warriors, though.
The Southmoreland defense forced nearly 30 EF turnovers in the game and turned a six-point halftime lead into a 25-point lead with a 21-0 run in the third quarter.
“There was no effort,” EF head coach Krystal Gibbs said. “We played like we practiced, which you can’t practice well when you only have seven players at Tuesday’s practice.
“I was pretty pleased with our first half, but there was nothing there in the second. Their pressure killed us and forced us into terrible mistakes. The whole side of the court was open and we were forcing it to the middle over and over. It’s a leadership thing, someone needs to take control for us on the floor.”
Delaynie Morvosh was the spark for the Scotties in the first half, scoring nine of her 19 points in the first quarter. She knocked down an early 3-pointer and got the scoring started.
“Delaynie has been a big spark for us in the first quarter lately,” Cernuto said. “She’s able to go out and knock down the threes, then she can drive and play big. She’s really a triple threat and a very good player.”
After leading 16-10 at the end of the first, the Scotties used a 8-2 run early in the second to extend the lead to 24-12 at the 5:46 mark forcing Gibbs to use a time out.
“We really got started out of that timeout,” she said. “We weren’t being patient and there was really no flow to the offense.”
Joselyn Dawson, who scored 12 points for the Warriors (2-3, 2-3), started a 10-2 run for EF with a three-point play. Brooke Markland followed with a layup and hit a trey and Anna Resnik scored before a Gracie Spadaro basket for Southmoreland.
“We started making smart passes and we started rebounding better,” Gibbs said. “That was key for us making that run and cutting the lead down.”
Spadaro, who finished with a game-high 21 points for Southmoreland, scored six straight points for her team as they carried a 30-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“Maddie Moore struggled a little bit but she hasn’t been feeling well and she went out there and played her heart out,” Cernuto said. “But that’s the thing about our team. We know if one girl’s not feeling it and having an off night, we have other girls that are going to step up.”
Coming out of the half, Resnik cut the lead to 30-26 with a jumper just 30 seconds into the third, then the turnover’s snowballed for EF.
“We were careless. One turnover turned into two, three more. It was terrible,” Gibbs said.
The other factor for EF was that senior Bailie Brinson wasn’t on the floor for the entire Scotties’ run due to foul trouble. She ended up fouling out midway through the fourth.
“Some of those fouls were terrible on her part,” Gibbs said. “The last one was frustration. You just can’t do that there. You have to know your team needs you out on that floor.”
The long run pushed Southmoreland’s lead to 52-31 as they outscored the Warriors, 22-7, in the third.
In the fourth, the Scotties extended the lead as high as 24 with three minutes to play before the Warriors finished the game on a 10-0 run against the Scotties’ reserves.
“There’s not much I can take from this one,” Gibbs said. “We got in foul trouble early and when you’re already short on the bench, you can’t afford to do that. After the game, we just look like we’re fine with losing. We can’t be satisfied after a game like this.”
Amber Cernuto likes the path her team is one heading down the stretch.
“I like our quickness and I love our length. The girls are picking each other up and are really working well together,” she said. “I like where we’re at.”
The Scotties will host Mt. Pleasant Monday while EF will look to correct some issues tonight at South Allegheny.
