Lady Gators breeze past jefferson-Morgan
CONNELLSVILLE – Geibel’s Lady Gators basketball team entered Thursday’s Section 2-A contest against Jefferson-Morgan looking to break a three-game losing streak. The Lady Rockets entered the game with a chance to take over third place in the section. However, Jefferson-Morgan entered the game short-handed with three starters missing. The main player missing from the lineup was senior center Shanna Yourchik, who had not returned from a holiday vacation.
The end result was Geibel using their depth to run away from the Rockets for a 53-17 win.
“We have to play ball even without Shanna,” J-M head coach Buddy Hawk said. “We had too many turnovers against their press. Unfortunately this is the end result.”
The Lady Gators (5-5,3-2), raced out to a 10-0 lead, before a foul shot by the Rockets’ Carly Largent stopped the run. The Lady Gators then proceeded to run off another nine straight points and held a 23-3 lead at the end of the first period.
Meghan Barry scored six of her 12 points in the first quarter. Julie Wisilosky had five of her game-high 13 in the first. Kristin Hozak and Erica Speeney each had four in the quarter.
“It was a tough night for Jefferson-Morgan without three starters, especially Yourchik,” Geibel head coach George Bortz said. “She’s more athletic and bigger than we are, and we don’t match up well against her.”
The Lady Gators went to the bench in the second quarter, using a more deliberate offense and slowed the game down. They outscored the Lady Rockets (3-7, 2-3) 10-3 , to take a 33-6 halftime lead.
Emily Pennington had four points for Geibel in the quarter, while Abbie Renze added a three.
“The kids did alright and executed our game plan,” Bortz said. “But a game like this is tough when you have such a big lead. Sometimes it’s hard for them to keep their focus.”
Geibel concentrated well enough in third period with an 18-3 run. Wisilosky had eight points in the quarter to lead the Gators. Barry added four to allow the Lady Gators to hold a 51-9 lead after three to put the game out of reach.
J-M won the final period with an 8-2 edge.
“It was good for us to get the win after losing three in a row, plus they were tied with us in the section,” Bortz said. “We’re still in the running for a piece of the section title. We’ll see Carmichaels and Avella again, plus they have to play each other. We’ll just keep working to improve our play.”