Lady Rockets rebound with 56-26 win over Mapletown
Holly Tonini
Mapletown’s Brook Duranko (2) desperately tries to keep the ball
from Jefferson-Morgan’s Ashley Faddis during Monday’s game at
Mapletown.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Ashley Faddis (13) tries to pass around
Mapletown’s Kristi Guritza (11) and keep the ball away from the
Lady Maples’ Brook Duranko (2) during Monday’s game at
Mapletown. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
Holly Tonini
Mapletown’s Kristi Guritza attempts to swat the ball away from
Jefferson-Morgan’s Mariah Hildebrand (11) during Monday’s game at
Mapletown.
GREENSBORO — After dropping their Section 3-A opener, Jefferson-Morgan rebounded Monday night with a 24-point first quarter, en route to a 56-26 road victory against Mapletown.
“Every time we take the court we have to improve,” J-M coach Ellen Hildebrand said. “It’s all about us, and we just have to continue to execute. It’s going to be a learning curve for us, because we are still working and growing with so many young kids.”
The Lady Rockets (3-2, 1-1) were led by senior guard Mariah Hildebrand, who scored a game-high 25 points with six baskets from beyond the arc.
J-M scored the game’s first 11 points, courtesy of three, 3-pointers by Hildebrand and a bucket by Ashley Faddis. Faddis scored 11 of her 15 points in the opening frame.
“We showed some great mental strength in that first quarter,” Hildebrand said. “I wish we could have sustained that throughout the game, but we were definitely clicking in the opening eight minutes.”
The Lady Maples (0-6, 0-2) got on the board after a transition hoop by Sarah Taylor, but the Lady Rockets scored the next 11 points and went up 24-4 at the end of the first quarter.
“We were getting lazy in our two-three zone at the beginning of the game,” Mapletown coach Autumn Willis said. “We went to a man defense and that seem to help us out against their fast, guard play. We just didn’t move or communicate on defense.”
Mapletown outscored J-M by a 9-5 margin and cut the deficit to 29-13 at halftime.
Both squads scored nine points in the third quarter, as the Lady Maples trailed 38-22 going into the final eight minutes of action.
The Lady Rockets’ offense sparked once again in the final quarter, as they took an 18-4 scoring edge. Hildebrand recorded eight points in the fourth, as the Rockets scored a season-high 56 points.
“Mariah is our senior captain and she knows she is going to have to step up and take over games,” Coach Hildebrand said. “She is a streaky shooter and just seems to get hot. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what the other defense is playing, she just finds open space.”
Christina Schamp scored 10 points to round out the top scorers for J-M, while Mapletown was led by Taylor (10 points) and Kristi Guritza (nine points).
The Lady Rockets hope to build a winning streak today, as they travel to non-section foe Geibel Catholic. The Lady Maples are idle until the Bentworth Tournament on Dec. 27-28.
“We are starting to talk more on the court and be more consistent on offense and defense,” Willis said. “Sometimes we hang too much on the loss, and as a group, we have to build something out of every game and learn from our mistakes.”