Lady Trojans clinch share of Section 3-A crown
Jefferson-Morgan’s Nicole Venick (33) dribbles the ball as she looks for room to make a play around California’s Jenna Miller during their Section 3-A game at Jefferson-Morgan on Jan. 29. Both teams have advanced to the WPIAL Class A girls quarterfinals, along with the California boys team.
California's Kylie Huffman looks for a way to pass around Jefferson-Morgan's Erin Confortini during Thursday's Section 3-A game at Jefferson-Morgan.
Holly Tonini
California’s Jenna Miller (3) dribbles past Jefferson-Morgan’s Nicole Venick during Thursday’s Section 3-A game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.
JEFFERSON — In a battle of the top two teams in Section 3-A, as well as the top two defensive teams in the WPIAL, the California girls basketball squad was able to jump ahead with 20 first-quarter points to secure a 50-27 victory over Jefferson-Morgan Thursday night.
With the win, the Lady Trojans (19-1, 12-0) clinched at least a share of the section crown with two games left. Cal also extended two winning streaks, a 19-game overall winning streak and a 22-game winning streak within Section 3-A.
“We hit a lot more shots and that stretched their defense,” Cal coach Chris Minerd said. “We knew this was a big-time game and whichever team could get their offense rolling first was probably going to win. We worked the ball and our defense shut them down.”
Coming into the contest, both teams were ranked first and second in points allowed in the WPIAL. Cal allowed 24.5 points per game, while J-M gives up an average of 31 points per game.
In their prior meeting on Jan. 5, Cal escaped with a 39-32 triumph.
“Cal shot the ball better from the last time we saw them,” J-M coach Chris Niemiec said. “We knew defense was going to win this game, and we had too many turnovers that led to some easy shots for them. We got frustrated on offense and we are not use to playing from behind.”
Six-foot-two center Kylie Huffman led all scorers with 17 points and made five of Cal’s seven shots from beyond the arc in the win. Bailey Vig finished with 10 points, while Jenna Miller and Lyndsey Huhn added eight and seven points, respectively.
Kayla Yorko tallied a game-high nine points for the Lady Rockets (16-2, 10-2), while Erin Confortini chipped in with six.
After the Lady Trojans scored the game’s first basket, the Lady Rockets took its first — and only lead — of the game after a 3-pointer by Yorko in the early stages of the first quarter.
Trailing 3-2, Cal rattled off 11 straight points, courtesy of two treys from Huffman and five points from Vig. A 3-pointer by Huffman at the end of the opening period made it 20-4.
“We knew Jefferson was a tough team and they gave us a good game a couple of weeks ago,” Huffman said. “We were just clicking on offense and we didn’t expect to win by 20 tonight. Since my knee injury, I’ve been a little tentative on the inside and been relying on the three.”
J-M got some early momentum in the second stanza with five points, but Cal countered with two late baskets by Miller to give the visitors a 28-13 lead at halftime.
“Having our bigs on the outside and constantly moving really opened up things for our offense,” Miller said. “We get better shots and we can kind of work our way inside more. It’s great to have that balance on offense, but we know we win games with our defense.”
After a put-back hoop by Morgan Simkovic cut the Lady Trojans lead down to 28-15 to start the third frame, Cal responded with seven straight points and held a 14-10 scoring edge in the third.
“We had patience tonight, and we didn’t have that the last time we played them,” Minerd said. “Kylie made her shots and we wanted this game to be up-tempo. Jefferson likes to slow it down. Our press had to produce turnovers and get the speed of the game in our favor.”
An old-fashioned three-point play by Brooke Clements made it 46-23 with 3:10 remaining, as Cal carried an 8-4 scoring advantage in the final quarter to capture the road win.
“We are still looking for that one big win,” Niemiec said. “We have to forget this one and leave this game in the past. We got two more section games left and we are going to work on some things offensively. We want to win out and get a better seed for the playoffs.”