Riverview girls basketball defeats host Jeannette

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, December 9, 2017 | 6:57 PM

Riverview's girls basketball team lead for the majority of the game, but it had to overcome multiple Jeannette runs in order to seal a 45-33 win at the Jeannette Tip-Off Tournament.

Both teams had trouble putting the ball in the basket in the first quarter.

Jeannette's lone available senior, Payt'n Detar, made a 3 to open the scoring, but Riverview closed the quarter on 7-2 run fueled by five points from sophomore Alyssa Cappa. Cappa finished the game with thirteen points.

In the second quarter, Riverview warmed up.

“It made things a little easier,” Riverview coach Keith Stitt said. “After the first quarter, we started finishing some shots.”

Sydney McDonough made two free-throws with 19 seconds left in the first half to extend Riverview's 6-0 run.

Detar answered with another 3 to end the run as time expired in the first half, making the score 18-10.

Jeannette coach Janine Vertacnik said her team just could not find its offense.

“When you hold a team to eighteen points at halftime in high school, you should be winning the game,” she said.

The second half continued the trend of runs. After Riverview took a 24-10 lead, the Jayhawks responded with an 8-0 run.

Riverview used contributions from five players in the third quarter to lead 29-20 heading into the final quarter.

Two backdoor cuts that led to layups were followed by free throws from Riverview sophomore Francesca Lio to extend Riverview's lead to sixteen points.

Jeannette junior Dymond Crawford scored seven unanswered points to make the score 36-27. But the Jawhawks could not overcome the Riverview lead.

McDonough closed with five of her 11 points in the fourth quarter. Lio finished with nine.

Stitt said his team found success by periodically switching up the defense.

“I thought that kind of helped things,” Stitt said. “They had some inexperienced guards, and I thought we were able to take advantage of some turnovers.”

Though Vertacnik was proud of her team's hustle and defense, she said it needs to be more patient on offense.

“I don't know if it was a lack of experience,” Vertacnik said, “sometimes our shot selection isn't good, and we have to rebound more.”

Crawford finished with 10 points for the Jayhawks. Detar added nine.

“We're pretty young,” Stitt said. “It's always nice to get (two wins to start the season).”

Zach Damico is a freelance writer.

Tags: Jeannette, Riverview