WEST SUNBURY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Moniteau led Venango Catholic 17-4 just five minutes into the game.
The Warriors needed that spark following a disappointing performance Friday night at Clarion in which they scored just 24 points.
They got it Tuesday night from a couple of sophomores.
Catherine Kelly and Kendall Sankey combined to score 15 points in the first quarter and Moniteau cruised to a 47-29 win over the Vikings.
Kelly scored a team-high 14 points and Sankey added 11 points. Sankey also had 10 rebounds and three assists.
“Better,” said Moniteau coach Dee Arblaster. “We didn’t shoot very well, and again we didn’t take care of the basketball.”
That allowed Venango Catholic (4-7) to hang in there with the Warriors.
The Vikings have just six players on their roster.
But they also have Lily Homan.
The sophomore point guard scored 15 points to lead Venango Catholic, which cut the Moniteau lead down to 10 several times in the second half after the Warriors had built a 26-11 halftime lead.
Homan is averaging nearly 19 points per game this season.
“She’s a nice player,” Arblaster said of Homan. “She’s gonna get her points somehow.”
Moniteau (7-6), though, was able to keep Venango Catholic from cutting any deeper into the Warriors’ advantage.
“We need all five, six, seven girls to play well to be successful,” Arblaster said.
One of those players, Allie Pry, returned from quarantine and gave Moniteau a late lift.
She scored four points in the fourth quarter to dash Venango Catholic’s momentum and designs on a comeback.
“She’s a big presence for us,” Arblaster said.
Davina Pry added seven points for the Warriors.
Mariah Wessell and Morgan Wessell each added six for Venango Catholic.
“We shot ourselves in the foot with too many turnovers,” said Venango Catholic coach Skip Homan. “Give Moniteau credit. I mean, they’re a good group of kids and Lily’s played with a bunch of their kids (in AAU).
“I’m proud of the way they kept coming back,” the coach added. “We got it down to 10 a couple of times, but we couldn’t break through.”
NORTH CLARION 48, CRANBERRY 23 – Gwen Siegel scored 20 points as the Wolves shook off a sluggish start with a big second quarter to down the Berries.
North Clarion trailed 8-2 after one quarter, but outscored Cranberry 22-4 in the second to seize control.
Ayanna Ferringer led the Berries with 15 points.
Amaya Green also reached double digits with 10 for North Clarion.
BOYS
Jay Clover scored 19 points and also had 11 rebounds as A-C Valley rolled past Cranberry, 65-44.
Alex Preston added 11 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots and Landon Chalmers had seven rebounds to go with eight points.
Ryan Cooper also scored in double figures for the Falcons with 10.
NORTH CLARION 75, FOREST 36 – Josh Daum scored 18 points and Aiden Hartle pitched in 16 to lead the Wolves.
Collin Schmader added nine for North Clarion.
Allen Johnson paced Forest with 22 points.
