Jan 28, 2011 By Adam Brewer for The 3 min read

ROGERSVILLE – The West Greene girls basketball squad had three players in double figures, as the Lady Pioneers toppled Mapletown, 54-31, in Section 3-A action Thursday night. The Lady Pioneers (4-12, 2-6) swept the season series, as they previously defeated the Lady Maples (0-17, 0-8) on Jan. 4 by a 3-point margin on the road.

“We have really gotten better from the last time we played them,” West Greene coach Jim Romanus said. “We started the season off slow, but have been playing better. Some offenses take a while to establish, and right now we are getting some offensive continuity. Our half court game has developed and I like our pressure sets.”

Paige Moninger scored a team-high 13 points for West Greene and Megan Reeves scored nine of her 11 points in the third quarter.

Cathy Mason added 10 points in the win, and Romanus said that the lone senior provides much more than scoring for the team.

“Cathy is an intelligent player,” Romanus said. “We keep a plus-minus chart on everything the girls do in a game, and Cathy always ends up on the plus side. She might not be the leading scorer or rebounder, but she doesn’t make mental mistakes. She studies the game and is a straight-A student. She is our captain and makes the fewest mistakes.”

The Lady Pioneers jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the opening stanza, as Mason collected six points in the first eight minutes of the contest.

West Greene extended their lead to 24-10 at halftime, and then put the game out of reach with a 20-point effort in the third quarter.

“At halftime, we told our girls to cash in on our fast-break opportunities,” Romanus said. “I thought we did that and our press helped us in the third quarter. We attacked the basket and made some mid-range jumpers.”

The Lady Maples held their lone scoring edge in a quarter in the last eight minutes, as they were able to outscore the Lady Pioneers by a 14-10 margin.

“We have had a rough road so far, but the main thing is not to quite,” Mapletown coach Autumn Willis said. “We have to continue to fight and battle every game. The win-lose record may not show it, but we have improved. We have shown a lot more heart and passion in games and in practices the last couple of weeks.”

Leading the way for Mapletown was Kristi Guritza’s 14 points. Sarah Taylor scored eight points off the bench for the Maples.

Both squads will be in action today on the road, as Mapletown travels to Avella and West Greene ventures out to Bentworth.