Southeast Staves off Mogadore 37-34
Palmyra, OH- The Lady Pirates welcomed the Mogadore Wildcats to town Thursday evening. While the temperatures plummeted through the teens outside, the Pirates opened the game as hot as a team possibly could hope for. Following the Wildcats scoring the initial basket of the evening, the Pirates answered with a 7-0 run, holding the 7-2 advantage at the 5:30 mark in the opening frame. Sophomore Lylia Lavigna netted 11 in the 1st quarter to spearhead the charge as the Pirates wrapped up the 1st quarter with a 17-5 advantage. Jessica Holler netted all 5 of the Wildcat points through the first 8 minutes of play.
The Wildcats began to chip away at the Pirate advantage through the 2nd quarter, cutting the lead down to 11 at the midway point and entering the break with the scoreboard reading 22-11. The Wildcats went on a run of their own to open the 2nd quarter, getting a quick 5-0 run before the pace became more balanced as the first half came to a conclusion.
The game kept a similar back and forth tempo through the 3rd, as the Wildcats were able to knock one more off the deficit before the heading to the 4th, with the score 29-19 after 3. It was a balanced attack for the ‘Cats as they chipped away at the deficit through the middle quarters. Kasey Balyard scored 8 of her 13 through those two frames.
The Wildcats comeback attempt would fall just short in the 4th quarter, as they were able to cut the lead down to a single possession but were unable to get it closer than the ending deficit of 3. It was Jessica Holler leading the comeback charge for the visitors, scoring 8 of her 13 in the final 8-minute stanza. For the Pirates, it was Jenna Canale scoring 3 of her 9 to help keep the score board in the host’s favor. The victory moves the Pirates to 3-0 on the young season, while the loss drops the Wildcats to 2-1. The Pirates travel to Canal Fulton on Saturday to take on the Northwestern Indians, while the Wildcats next game is at home as they welcome Triway on Saturday afternoon.
