Lady Cougars edge Ringgold, 40-39
Darnell Graham
Ringgold’s Nya Adams (1) attempts to dribble past Charleroi’s Aislyn Lee (11) during a non-section game at Ringgold High School on Dec. 11.
Darnell Graham
Ringgold’s Taylor Mendicino (21) attempts to split Charleroi defenders Aislyn Lee (11) and and Bella Skobel (12) during Monday’s non-section game at Ringgold High School.
Ringgold's Hope Martin (20) looks to pass against Charleroi during their game at Ringgold High School on Dec. 11 last season.
CARROLL TWP. — Rivalry games between neighboring schools are usually hotly contested, and it was no different Monday night as Ringgold outlasted Charleroi, 40-39.
Ashley Briscoe became the 10th girls player Ringgold history to score 1,000 points, but after the game the senior wanted to talk about a block by teammate Taylor Costa on the last play of the game that preserved the one-point win.
“It is a great win, especially with a play like Taylor’s block,” Briscoe said. “(Hitting 1,000 points) is a great accomplishment and it means that much more because it came during a win.”
On the game-saving play, Costa blocked a shot in the paint by Charleroi’s Maggie Albert at the buzzer.
Briscoe finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Taylor Mendicino also scored 12 points.
“I like that we never gave up after Charleroi got back into the game and we were able to pull it out,” said Ringgold coach Erika McCarthy. “I could not be happier or prouder of Ashley because she works so hard.”
Ringgold had a height advantage and limited Charleroi to 16 total rebounds in the contest with eight coming from Sierra Short.
Despite the lack of height, Charleroi had chances to win and the outcome may have been different had the Lady Cougars hit more than 11-of-19 free throws.
“Free throw shooting is in our girls heads right now and it is killing us,” Charleroi coach Kevin Lee said. “Our girls have to come out better in the first half.
“This was another tough game and I hope it pays off down the road, but no one is happy with the loss and there is no silver lining.”
Trailing 31-17 early in the third quarter, Charleroi went on a 10-0 run to close the quarter and a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter to trim Ringgold’s lead to 31-30 with 6:01 to play.
This came after a 17-1 run by Ringgold that overlapped from the first quarter into the second when the hosts took control of the game.
Mendicino hit a basket with 5:43 to play to start a 6-0 run for Ringgold, and the points were Ringgold’s first in over eight minutes of game action.
Briscoe closed the 6-0 run and her basket with 4:06 to play gave her 1,001 points for her career.
Moments later the game was stopped to honor Briscoe and then Maria Claybaugh, who finished with a game-high 19 points for Charleroi, drilled a 3-pointer to make the score 37-33 with 3:51 to play.
Nya Adams hit one of two free throws to give Ringgold a 38-33 lead with 2:42 to play, and then Short hit two free throws to make the score 38-35 with 2:19 to play.
Mendicino hit a pair of free throws for Ringgold with 1:43 to play to make the score 40-35, and Ringgold would not score again.
Short made a basket to make the score 40-37 with 1:30 to go, and Claybaugh hit a pair of free throws with 1:04 to go to close the scoring.
Short finished with 12 points and had eight of Charleroi’s 16 rebounds against the much-taller Rams. Aislyn Lee played a solid floor game for Charleroi with eight assists, while Claybaugh added six steals.
Adams finished with six assists for Ringgold, while Costa had 11 rebounds for the Lady Rams.
Charleroi played its third straight game to start the season without three-year starter Kaitlyn Riley. The Lady Cougars hope to have her back Thursday for the team’s Section 2-AAA opener at South Allegheny.
“We hope to have her back Thursday, but it is day-to-day,” Lee said of Riley’s lower leg injury.