Branch hungry, healthy
Trending
BELOIT-- The West Branch girls basketball team got the fresh start to a new season that it needed after its star player, Youngstown State commit Sophia Gregory was out with a foot injury for a good part of last season.
"I was hungry, I want to do well this season," said Gregory. "Obviously I didn't want to get hurt, I felt good."
Gregory led the Warriors with 20 points and six rebounds as it edged Cardinal Mooney 51-24 on Friday.
West Branch had a slow start to begin the game as it only had a 13-8 lead after the first quarter of play.
The Warriors (1-0) used it size to its advantage as the defensive game and held the Cardinals to just three points in the second quarter, while the Warriors finished the half strong with 12 point points that gave them a 25-11 lead at halftime.
"We are pretty big and we have a lot of length," Warriors head coach Walt DeShields said. "If we can get those mismatches then we can take advantage especially on the offensive end, but defensively tonight too."
The Cardinals (0-1) had a couple a couple of come back attempts, but the length and size of the Warriors held it back.
"We are a vertically challenged I guess and we knew that could be an issue," Mooney head coach Dominic Diorio said. "We were hoping we would be able to attack and get to the hoop more with our speed and create some mismatches on our end and I think we did at some points, but we just didn't convert."
One final attempt by the Cardinals was answered quickly by the Warriors with an 8-0 run from the end of the third quarter and into the fourth that put the game out of reach.
Along with Gregory, Audrey Eaton and Mikalyn Woods contributed eight points each, while Carter Shepherd added 5 points.
Cardinal Mooney was led by Francesca Cassese with seven points, while Sophia Diorio had 5 points.
Game notes
¯ The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association recognized West Branch head coach Walt DeShields as a recipient for the Sportsmanship, Ethics, & Integrity Award on Thursday.
"It's just a great honor," DeShields said. "I don't know what to say I have coached for a long time and I have seen a lot of people win that award. It is probably one of the most honoring and humbling awards out there and I am just very blessed."
¯ The West Branch junior varsity won 34-14 win.
Addison Reichenbach had nine points for the Warriors, while Tallie Muniz added eight points.
Cardinal Mooney was led by Laiya Moore with five points.
¯ West Branch will host Eastern Buckeye Conference member Minerva on Wednesday, while Cardinal Mooney will host Salem on Monday.
CM: 8- 3- 9- 4--24
WB: 13-12-14-12--51
CARDINAL MOONEY SCORING: Talecia Huff 0-0-0, Samantha Rotunno 1-1-3, Delanie Olesh 1-0-3, Katie Pregibon 1-0-3, Sophia Rotunno 0-0-0, Sophia Diorio 2-1-5, Julia Diorio 0-0-0, Francesca Cassese 3-0-7, ZanijahRay Wright 0-1-1, Dayna Hughes 1-0-2. TEAM TOTALS: 9, 3-8: 24.
WEST BRANCH SCORING: Ellie Tucker 0-0-0, Chloe Dennison 0-1-1, Alli Kanagy 0-0-0, Mati Hawk 1-0-2, Presley Egli 0-0-0, Carter Shepherd 2-0-5, Brynn Smith 1-0-2, Sophia Gregory 7-6-20, Tallie Muniz 0-0-0, Hallie Vie Burton 0-0-0, Audrey Eaton 3-1-8, Mikalyn Woods 3-0-8, Livvie Showalter, 1-3-5. TEAM TOTALS: 18, 11-15: 51.
Three-point goals: Mooney 3 (Olesh, Pregibon, Cassese), West Branch 4 (Woods 2, Eaton, Shepherd).