Apollo-Ridge’s Moore proves she’s more than a 3-point shooter

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, December 19, 2018 | 7:36 PM

Maddy Moore didn’t think she had the touch from long range when she entered her freshman season at Apollo-Ridge.

“I thought I was an awful 3-point shooter my freshman year, but I kept working at it,” the Vikings senior guard/forward said.

The work paid off as she has made the most threes in program history.

She set the season (42) and career (69) 3-point records last year. Both marks were held by Hannah Shaffer (2007-10).

“I didn’t know about the records until a couple of games before,” Moore said. “I never got the chance to meet (Shaffer), but my parents knew her. She was a legend here.”

Moore is adding to her 3-point total, which stands at 75 through Tuesday’s loss to WPIAL 4A No. 1 North Catholic.

She said while it is nice to be able to put up strong statistics each game, the focus is to play well and help get the team back to the playoffs.

“She doesn’t look at the scoresheet, worrying about points, rebounds or threes,” Apollo-Ridge coach Jim Callipare said. “Those things just come naturally over the course of helping her team win games. That goes for the whole team.”

Apollo-Ridge improved to 4-1 with a 56-53 home victory over Burrell last Thursday in its Section 1-4A opener. The Vikings hope to make it 2-0 in section play as they host Indiana on Thursday.

“(Burrell) was a really good team win,” Moore said. “With Riley (Eaton) and I on the bench with foul trouble early and Liz (Penrose) later, our teammates stepped up. That win early in the season was big. It can help us get to the playoffs.”

Moore’s ability to play on the perimeter or in the post, Callipare said, makes her a difficult matchup for opponents. She is averaging 11.2 points and leads the team with 4.6 assists and 3.4 steals.

“Naturally, she’s a guard for our team because of what we need her to be,” Callipare said. “But because of her skill set, we can move her inside or outside depending on who we are playing and the game situation.

“It’s really a credit to her. She’s willing to do whatever the team needs. She plays one through five on the floor, any position that we need.”

Moore scored a team-best 22 points to go with nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks in a 57-42 victory over Ellwood City in the championship game of the Springdale tournament.

She earned tournament most valuable player honors.

Foul trouble, however, has followed Moore through several games.

“A lot of it is because we were trying to be aggressive and press a little bit more,” Callipare said. “We’ve talked about that with her. Her presence on the floor is so important. It has a calming effect on the rest of the team.”

Moore’s versatility could serve her well at the next level. She has signed to play at Division II Seton Hill. She said that versatility impressed Griffins coach Mark Katarski, who saw her in an AAU game over the summer.

“He knew I could play outside, but he didn’t know I could defend the post,” Moore said. “He said that really set his decision on me.

“Since I started playing AAU, it’s been a big goal to play college basketball. When I was in about sixth grade, I was really wanting to play at Notre Dame. That was my big dream. Then, it became more realistic.”

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at 412-388-5825, mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MLove_Trib.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge