Weir girls stay on a roll, down Central
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WEIRTON -- Sophia Mikula turned in a monster performance Monday as Weir High celebrated senior night with a 64-58 girls basketball victory over Steubenville Catholic Central inside the Carl R. Hamill Fieldhouse.
The junior erupted for 28 points, nine coming on long range bombs, as the Red Riders improved to 5-12 and registered their second big win in three days (Weir defeated state-ranked Morgantown Trinity Christian 60-37 on Saturday).
Central, now 11-7, led 20-18 after the opening period thanks to 10 points from senior Julia Zatta. Mikula opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and the Red Riders took the lead for good, outscoring their guests 15-6 to lead 33-26 at the intermission.
Mikula tallied eight in the third and Weir led 47-39 heading into the final frame. Central made a run thanks to several big baskets by senior Christine Dombrowski and cut the deficit to three twice, but the Riders held on down the stretch as Mikula and senior Julia Gianni delivered key hoops to secure the triumph.
"It was another big win for us," said Weir coach Rick Stead. "I've been telling these girls all along if they buy into what we are trying to do and they believe in themselves, these are the results they are capable of achieving.
"When you play four state-ranked teams in a week, it's tough. We took our lumps a couple of nights but a little bit of adversity builds character, and they showed their character in the fourth quarter by holding on and winning the game, because they could have easily gone in the tank, but they didn't. They've fought all year and have always played well in the fourth quarter. Tonight, they had a lead and maintained it. I am extremely proud of how they played."
Gianni contributed 13 points to the Weir attack. Fellow seniors Gia Fuscardo and Alexis Vuiller had nine and eight points, respectively.
"The girls kept their composure," Stead said. "There were a couple of times where I thought they were going to come off the tracks but they held it together. They played extremely hard and they earned this win."
Dombrowski paced the Crusaders with 24 points despite sitting out most of the second quarter with foul trouble. Zatta netted 16 points and junior Bella Oliver 14 points.
"I thought our girls played well in the first quarter but we kind of fell apart in the second," said Central coach Jess Looman. "We had some unforced turnovers, we were forcing shots and we didn't defend well. The early foul problems didn't help us either.
"The girls played much better in the second half, we got close a couple of times but couldn't get a defensive stop when we needed one. Weir made some big plays down the stretch, so credit to them."
Before the game, Weir honored its four seniors, Fuscardo, Gianni, Trezur Sartor and Vuiller. The Riders also saluted Dombrowski and Zatta, Central's two seniors.
"If not for them, we wouldn't be where we are now," Stead said of his four seniors. "They came out as freshmen, played junior varsity and worked their way through our system. They have worked extremely hard for four years.
"Alexis came up big for us tonight with eight points and so did Trezur. They don't normally start for us. Julia had a nice game and Gia did an outstanding job of handling the ball for us in the fourth quarter. I'm extremely proud of our seniors."
Central is scheduled to visit Indian Valley Wednesday while Weir will travel to East Fairmont Saturday.
GAME NOTES
¯ Ali Grimm scored a game-high 14 points as Central rolled to a 37-17 victory in the junior varsity contest. Katie Zatta had 10 points for the Crusaders and Bri DeChristopher had eight points. Marissa Howard scored five points for Weir.
Weir 64, Catholic Central 58
Central 20-6-13-19 -- 58
Weir 18-15-14-17 -- 64
CATHOLIC CENTRAL (11-7): Harold 0 0-0 0; Zatta 5 5-6 16; Fayak 0 0-0 0; Dombrowski 8 6-8 24; Oliver 7 0-2 14; Olszewski 1 2-4 4. TOTALS: 21 13-20 58.
WEIR HIGH (5-12): Fuscardo 4 1-5 9; Vuiller 3 2-2 8; Gianni 5 3-3 13; Sartor 1 1-4 3; Mikula 11 3-3 28; Bernola 0 0-0 0; Nutter 0 1-2 1; Aperfine 1 -4 2. Totals 25 11-23 64.
3-POINT GOALS: Central 3 (Dombrowski 2; Zatta); Weir 3 (all by Mikula).