Return of Pordash sparks Dax Thomas State Farm

By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com

A long second-half run and the return of its leading scorer helped lead Dax Thomas State Farm to an important 43-33 win over Edward Jones Wednesday in Mon Valley Independent Summer Basketball League play.
Chloe Pordash poured in 19 points and State Farm used a 12-3 run midway through the second half to push to the win.
In all, seven different players scored for Dax Thomas State Farm as they got contributions from up and down the lineup.
“This was a great team effort,” DTSF head coach Tommy Rodriguez said. “We were able to sub five in and five out, and I told these girls, I’m going to play them all. Every one of them contributed to this win.”
The game didn’t start of well for either team as turnovers and sloppy play marred the first half.
Pordash, a rising senior at Serra Catholic, pushed her team out to an early 11-6 lead by scoring seven points, four from the line and a 3-pointer.
“Chloe came back from her little hiatus and she played well. We’ll take baby steps with her. It was good that she had this kind of game,” Rodriguez said. “Early on, she was our scorer. She was aggressive and she attacked the basket. I think getting the double-tech can end up doing her some good. When she’s on the floor and she keeps her head, she can be a special player.”
Neither team gained much of an advantage through the first half, with State Farm’s biggest lead only being four points after the eight minute mark.
South Fayette’s Erica Hall scored off a putback made it 15-11 before free throws from Edward Jones’ Viva Kreis (Belle Vernon) and Avana Sayles (Peters Township) cut the lead back to one.
Sayles led her team with 10 points.
The teams exchanged baskets until the final horn of the half, which ended with Dax Thomas State Farm up 19-18.

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Thursday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.