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Ramettes fall to Lady Crusaders, 32-14 |
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Saturday, 30 January 2010 |
By Joseph Bell
JOHNSONBURG – Despite low scoring from both teams, the visiting Lady Crusaders were able to pull away last night for an easy 32-14 win over Johnsonburg.
The difference-maker early in the game was Elk County Catholic junior guard Karly Carnovale, whose two 3-pointers in the first half helped the Lady Crusaders build an early 17-9 lead at halftime. Carnovale drilled a trey with five seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Carnovale, who led all scorers with 15 points, would record another long distance strike with four seconds remaining in the third quarter for a 24-13 lead.
"Karly (Carnovale) shot the ball very nicely (last night) and we were patient for the most part, we just couldn't make a shot," Elk County Catholic head girls basketball coach Ken Pistner said following the win. "It's good to come away with this win and we're happy with our defense."
Both coaches agreed that their respective teams displayed difficulty shooting the ball.
"The shooting for both teams was off," Johnsonburg head girls basketball coach Mike Zilkofski said. "They were playing a man-to-man defense and with the plays I had set up, once our girls got to the first option, they're done and it's 'panic city' as they just didn't have any patience.
"Just 14 points for a varsity game, that isn't very good and it's never been this bad. This is rock bottom with the exception of the game against winless Curwensville."
In addition to poor shooting, Zilkofski said his team was also victimized by turnovers and lacking the basic fundamentals.
"There was just no desire and no hunger (last night), and turnovers killed us again with 18 in the first half and probably 20 in the second half," Zilkofski said. "We held (Lady Crusader senior forward Emily) Detsch to four points so (Johnsonburg senior guard) Anna (Polaski) did her job but the rest of the team just came out flat.
"There was no desire, we were flat and the turnovers were lazy. I don't know how to fix it."
For Pistner, his team displayed problems as well.
"We didn't shoot very well either, it just wasn't pretty," Pistner said. "We must've had a good defense (last night) to only give up 14 points.
"We contested most of their shots and tried not to give them many open looks. That was a positive for us but the game had no flow to it as no one could get any rhythm offensively."
The Ramettes managed just one point in the fourth quarter as the loss snapped their short two-game winning streak.
Despite the 18-point margin, Zilkofski indicated the score could have been closer had his shooters converted more free-throw attempts as the Ramettes shot 4-for-17 from the line.
"That doesn't help either, just a poor night shooting," Zilkofski said. "(Last night) just wasn't our night."
On the winning side, Pistner said that while his team prides itself in their defense, they were still patient on offense.
"At times our offense has been lacking but we had 66 points on Wednesday night (against Bradford)," Pistner said. "We just didn't shoot well (last night), even though we had the shots, it just wasn't a hot night.
"We pride ourselves in our defense and if you can play good defense on the road, you'll have an opportunity to win the game." |
