Big Red girls ride strong first half past Oak Glen
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STEUBENVILLE -- The Steubenville girls basketball team raced out to a big lead against Oak Glen on Thursday, and the damage was already done.
The Golden Bears battled back, but the deficit was too big to overcome, as Big Red came away with a 64-44 victory in the second game of the Chuck Watt/John Nese Holiday Classic inside the Crimson Center.
"Defensively, we did a good job pressuring the ball and, offensively, we took care of the ball," Big Red (6-3) head coach Jeff Lombardo said. "When we don't turn it over, we have good success."
Big Red jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter, and a pair of 3-pointers gave the victors a 20-2 advantage early in the second.
"Myla (Gulan) came in and hit a couple of 3s," Lombardo said. "We have not had success shooting from the outside, but she was able to come in and hit a couple of 3s, and then we also hit some other shots."
Big Red led by as many as 24 points in the third before Oak Glen cut its deficit to 13 points early in the fourth.
"They did what they usually do," Oak Glen (3-5) head coach Scott Wiley said. "They play good, aggressive defense. We tried to simulate it at practice with having five or six girls on the court, but you can't simulate it. They play hard-nosed defense. We struggle with that. I'm not telling anyone a secret. Anyone who has seen us play knows that. They are a good team. They have some nice players."
Makayla Abrams, who was named the player of the game, tallied a game-high 23 points to lead Big Red, while Gulan netted 12 points on four 3-pointers.
Maddie McKay collected a team-high 12 points to lead the Golden Bears, while Izzy Barganski contributed nine.
"They run a 2-3 zone," Lombardo said. "Once we got the lead, they had to come out of the zone and play man-to-man. They had some success with it, so they stuck with it."
Oak Glen was held scoreless for the first 7:02 of the game, and Big Red built a 14-2 lead at the end of the first.
"We told the girls to keep fighting," Wiley said. "They did not give up. We lost by 20, but the effort was there the whole way. They didn't put their heads down. As a coach, you want to see your team not give up. I am proud of the girls. When you score two points in the first quarter, it is hard to recover."
Big Red outscored the Golden Bears, 13-8, in the second to take a 27-10 lead into halftime.
"It was fairly even after that," Lombardo said. "I will have to sit and watch the film. We told the girls they are a well coached team, and they are not going to quit. When we built the lead, I don't think we had the same level of intensity on defense."
Big Red continued to play well in the third quarter, but Oak Glen fought back and outscored them 20-18 in the frame to pull within 45-30 entering the fourth.
The Golden Bears scored the first basket of the fourth, but Big Red regrouped and extended its lead.
"I love this event," Lombardo said. "It is great for the Ohio Valley. It is nice to be able to come out and see good boys and girls basketball. We are honoring two great coaches. They are historical coaches. It is great to be able to commemorate them. The event ends with Big Red playing the Central girls."
The Big Red-Catholic Central girls game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. today.
"It is a real nice event," Wiley said. "There are a lot of nice teams here. People can come down and see a lot of good basketball. The girls said they liked the food. That is always a plus."
Oak Glen is scheduled to play Wellsville Saturday afternoon. The JV is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and will last two quarters.
Oak Glen will honor its 1998-1999 state champion girls basketball team Saturday. There were 17 team members, coaches and managers on the team, and 16 of the 17 will be on hand. One player is living in Texas, and she will not be able to make it back for the ceremony.
Steubenville 64, Oak Glen 44
Oak Glen 2-8-20-14 -- 44
Steubenville 14-13-18-19 -- 64
OAK GLEN (3-5): Giorgini 3 2-2 8; Enochs 2 2-4 6; Kovalcik 2 0-0 4; McNutt 1 1-2 3; McKay 4 3-4 12; Barganski 3 3-4 9; Kranis 0 2-2 2. TOTALS: 15, 13-16: 44.
STEUBENVILLE (6-3): Gulan 4 0-0 12; Taylor 1 0-2 2; Marshall 0 0-0 0; Ferguson 3 0-0 6; Fields 1 6-6 8; Crownover 1 0-1 2, LaRue 1 2-3 4; Minniefield 1 1-4 3; Thompson 0 0-0 0; Martin 2 0-0 4; Abram 10 3-3 23. TOTALS: 24, 12-19: 64.
3-POINT GOALS: Oak Glen 1 (McKay); Steubenville 4 (Gulan 4).