Berardi scores 39 in Lady Mikes’ rout
CARMICHAELS – Youth was served Monday night at Carmichaels as sophomore Morgan Berardi scored a career-high 39 points and 11 assists to lead the Lady Mikes to a 74-32 win over Section 3-A rival Mapletown.
Carmichaels raced out to a 12-0 lead to set the tone as Berardi scored 11 points in the opening quarter.
“This was our best offensive output of the year,” said Carmichaels head coach Jim Lane. “We needed this game to move up in our section.”
Senior Erica Brittner added a triple double, scoring 20 points, grabbing 15 boards to go with 11 assists. She also had six steals while playing the majority of minutes as the Lady Mikes (8-5, 4-2) dressed six players.
“We wanted to stay out of foul trouble, but stay aggressive on defense,” added Lane. “Our aggressive defense sparks our fast break offense.”
The Lady Maples (0-14, 0-6) outscored their hosts after the break, edging the Lady Mikes 17-14.
“During halftime, I just told them to have fun out there and don’t worry about the score in the second half,” said Mapletown head coach Autumn Willis. “It’s a young team, so we need to improve our fundamentals.”
The strong third quarter from Mapletown was apparent to Lane as well as the spectators.
“Coach Willis is doing a great job with that team,” added Lane. “That bunch is headed in the right direction with her.”
Despite the lopsided score, Lane was looking for improvement as well.
“Our defense needs some improvement with the second half of the section schedule ahead of us,” added Lane. “We played a good game tonight considering we were without two regular starters.”
Felicia Burns led the Lady Maples with a relentless effort, scoring 10 points.
“She has a lot of heart,” said Willis. “Felicia wants it more than most players.”
Mapletown returns to section action Thursday at Avella.
“We just need to go to square one and be fundamentally sound future games,” said Willis.
Carmichaels, meanwhile hosts Chartiers-Houston Thursday in a fight for sole possession of second place in the Section 3-A standings.
“Looking ahead, we need to work on the little things,” added Lane. “We will need to be better if we want to catch Fort Cherry in the section.”