Monessen girls get Major win in opener

MONESSEN – Monessen’s girls basketball team christened Major Corley Court Monday night with a season-opening 61-40 win over Avella in Section 2-A.
“I am pleased with how we did,” said Monessen coach Janine Vertacnik. “We had some early silly fouls and tried to do too much, but it was the nerves.
“The excitement got the best of us, but we settled in, shared the ball well on offense and I am pleasantly surprised with the 61 points we put up.”
Corley was the highly successful former Monessen head coach who died during the offseason of complications related to the coronavirus.
Avella coach Mike Drazich spoke about the fight in his team despite only having six players in uniform.
“We started out OK, but then I think fatigue got to us a little,” he said. “The effort was there, but we will recover and be back.”
Avella (0-1, 0-1) raced out to a 9-2 lead, but Monessen (1-0, 1-0) settled and used pressure defense to force the Eagles into seven first-quarter turnovers.
With Monessen trailing and starter Mercedes Majors picking up her third foul with 5:30 to go in the first quarter, Vertacnik subbed in freshman Sidney Campbell and the tide turned in the game.
Campbell, who finished with nine points, brought energy into the game and helped the Greyhounds take an lead 18-15 going into the second.
“Sidney is like a ball of energy and has the instincts to know where the ball is going to be,” Vertacnik said. “She is like a sixth starter and will only get better, as will all of our young girls.”
Turnovers were a major factor all game for Avella. After its seven turnovers in the first quarter, Avella had five more in the second quarter and finished with 20 for the game, as did Monessen.
The Greyhounds held the Eagles without a basket in the second quarter until a Sam Stritzinger layup with 1:52 to go in the half.
By that point, the Greyhounds had opened a 29-18 lead and took a 32-20 advantage into halftime.
The outcome was never in doubt in the second half, but Avella kept fighting despite only having six players.
Monessen’s Sydney Caterino led all scorers with 19 points. Hailey Johnson added 12. Katie Dryer led Avella with 18 points.
Prior to the game, a moment of silence was held for Corley and Delvin Miller, both whom played and coached many years in the Monessen School District.
Monessen christened Major Corley Court Monday with a season-opening 61-40 win over Avella in Section 2-A contest.
“I am pleased with how we did,” said Monessen coach Janine Vertacnik. “We had some early silly fouls and tried to do too much, but it was the nerves.
“The excitement got the best of us, but we settled in, shared the ball well on offense and I am pleasantly surprised with the 61 points we put up.”
Avella coach Mike Drazich spoke about the fight in his team despite only having six players.
“We started out okay but then I think fatigue got to us a little,” he said. “The effort was there, but we will recover and be back.”
Avella (0-1, 0-1) raced out to a 9-2 lead early, but Monessen (1-0, 1-0) settled and used pressure defense to force the Eagles into seven first quarter turnovers.
With Monessen trailing and starter Mercedes Majors picking up her third foul with 5:30 to go in the first quarter, Vertacnik subbed in freshman Sidney Campbell and the tide turned in the game.
Campbell, who finished with nine points, brought energy into the game and helped the Greyhounds take an lead 18-15 going into the second.
“Sidney is like a ball of energy and has the instincts to know where the ball is going to be,” Vertacnik said. “She is like a sixth starter and will only get better as will all of our young girls.”
Turnovers were a major factor all game long for Avella and after its seven turnovers in the first quarter, it had five more in the second quarter and finished with 20 for the game, as did Monessen.
The Greyhounds held the Eagles without a basket in the second quarter until a Sam Stritzinger layup with 1:52 to go in the half.
By that point, the Greyhounds opened a 29-18 lead and took a 32-20 advantage into halftime.
The outcome was never in doubt in the second half, but Avella kept fighting despite only having six players.
Monessen’s Sydney Caterino led all scorers with 19 points while Hailey Johnson added 12 with Katie Dryer leading Avella with 18.
Prior to the game, a moment of silence was held for Corley and Delvin Miller, both who played and coached many years in the Monessen School District.
Both teams return to play with section road games as Monessen heads to Jefferson-Morgan on Wednesday and Avella is at Geibel Catholic on Thursday.