MERCER, Pa. (EYT/D9) — It was a win.
But it may have been a Pyrrhic victory for the Moniteau girls basketball team.
Forward Davina Pry left the game and didn’t return when she was struck in the right eye going for a loose ball. Abbey Jewart also left the game with a right foot injury that looked significant when she got tangled up in a scrum for possession.
Still, Allie Pry came up big with nine of her 11 points in the second half and Catherine Kelly was her usual steady self with 13 points to lead Moniteau to a 37-24 triumph over Sharon at the Mercer Christmas Tournament on Thursday night.
“Well, (Moniteau coach Dee Arblaster) told me to stop playing bad and get my head out of my butt, basically,” Allie Pry said, smiling. “So, I was like, ‘OK. I can do this. Let’s go.’”
“I told Allie she had to step up for us,” Arblaster added. “She gets down on herself. I can see it on her face. I told her to get that look off her face and she responded.”
Moniteau needed her in a physical game, which is Sharon’s trademark.
The Tigers have a very stout defense, which had helped them get off to a 6-1 start heading into the game against Moniteau on Thursday.
Sharon is holding teams to fewer than 30 points per game.
It was a struggle offensively all night for both teams.
Moniteau’s defense was equal to the challenge, taking an 18-10 lead into the halftime locker room.
“The first three minutes of the game we played well,” Arblaster said. “That was about it. They play good defense. They’re in your face and pressure you and our girls didn’t handle it at times very well.”
Sharon is one of the few teams remaining that plays almost exclusively man-to-man defense.
Kelly, though, was able to cut to the rim, especially early, for layups as Moniteau led 16-4 in the second quarter.
Sharon coach Kellie O’Brien lamented her team’s slow start out of the gate.
And also the Tigers’ very poor shooting night — Sharon was just 20% from the floor.
“We were hoping against their zone to hit one or two (early), but they just wouldn’t fall today,” O’Brien said. “We had open shots. We took a lot of shots, so that was good, anyway. (Moniteau is) an excellent team. They are fast, so I thought we played really good defense in holding them to under 40 points, especially matching up man-to-man.”
Moniteau (6-2) led by as many as 15 points in the second half.
The Tigers could never get the lead to fewer than 10 points.
“We were playing pretty bad,” Allie Pry said. “But getting the win makes it feel a little better. We should have done better tonight, though.”
Pry made a number of key steals in the second half. She also handled the ball more with Jewart out.
The Warriors are hoping Jewart’s foot injury isn’t as serious as it appeared. The junior couldn’t put any weight on it.
“I feel like we’re all going to have to work on ball handling a lot more, especially if Abbey is out because she’s our main ball handler and guard,” Pry said. “I think we can do it. It’s stink if she’s out for awhile, but I think we’ll be fine.”
Moniteau also struggled on the boards.
Sharon out-rebounded the Warriors three-to-one in the first half. It was a little more even in the second half, but it was cause for concern.
“I told them they can’t get more than one shot,” Arblaster said. “They got more than that. I told them if we keep giving up more than one shot, we’re not going to be very good.”
Autumn Stewart helped in that department in the second half. She came off the bench to give Moniteau valuable minutes and a strong presence on the glass.
“I said from the beginning of the year we needed someone to give us that spark off the bench and she has done that,” Arblaster said.
Moniteau will play host Mercer at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in the championship game.
Arblaster said playing outside of District 9 in a holiday tournament is invaluable for her team.
She just hopes to get her injured players back when the Warriors return to the rugged Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference slate next week.
“I like playing teams from District 10,” Arblaster said. “You’ll see different styles. Sharon gave us all we could handle.”
