Lady Raiders beat AG to snap 4-game losing skid
The Uniontown girls basketball squad snapped a four-game losing skid with a 51-15 triumph over Albert Gallatin Tuesday afternoon in the Laurel Highlands Christmas Tournament.
The Lady Red Raiders (4-4) had three players in double figures, led by 13 points from Arielle Winfrey. Khai and Juanita Harris added 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the win.
“We have struggled on offense this year,” Uniontown coach Jason Winfrey said. “Sometimes we just go into lulls on that side of the game and that has hurt us in a lot in close games. We have been offensively-challenged these first eight games, and we just have to work through it.”
Uniontown’s defense was the catalyst in the victory, forcing turnovers in their pressure packages and using their speed to cause havoc for Albert Gallatin.
The Lady Colonials (1-7) were limited to just six made baskets on the day, but did collect 3-pointers from Cassie Fisher, Rebecca Jurosco and Emily Moccaldi in the contest.
“We are young and we only had one senior dressed,” coach Ellen Hildebrand said. “We are basically a JV team playing in a competitive, Quad-A section. We are learning our systems and how to execute them. They are a great bunch of young kids, and they are hard workers.”
Uniontown tallied the first eight points of the game and held a 10-2 advantage going into the second quarter. Winfrey had six of the Lady Red Raiders’ 10 points in the first, while Alyssa Braddee scored the only hoop for the Lady Colonials.
“We are trying to simplify our offense,” Hildebrand said. “In transition, we are trying to teach them that when you don’t have an open lane to score, you have to swing the ball around and set up the offense. We just have to continue to build our experience and get better every game.”
In the second period, Uniontown controlled the action and held a 10-3 scoring edge in the quarter, en route to a 20-6 lead at halftime.
The Lady Red Raiders started the third quarter with six straight points and Winfrey capped off a 13-3 spree with Uniontown’s first 3-pointer of the game.
Leading 37-11 at the end of three, Uniontown opened the fourth with 10 consecutive points and easily coast to the tournament win.
“Our speed was the x-factor for us,” Coach Winfrey said. “We came out with a smaller line-up and we wanted to put pressure on them constantly. We got into some passing lanes and forced some turnovers. We were able to convert those into some easy points for us.”