LEIBITSBURG — Elia Hooper is back in action, with Girard starting his season against LaBray on Monday in Leavittsburgh.
The Vikings started the season with a win over Hartland Christian last week and improved to 2-0 with a 57-49 win over the Indians on Monday night.
Girard held a 10-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter, but the Vikings rallied and took a 27-23 lead into halftime.
LaBray built a 12-point advantage in the third quarter, but the Indians fought back to make it 50-46 with 1:10 left in regulation time.
Fortunately for the Vikings, Ella Kuzmaul, who scored a team-high 17 points, broke through and completed an and-one to secure the victory.
“It was a pretty tough start.” Kuschmaul said. “But we came together as a team and were able to finish the game well. We were open there at the end and we didn’t want to let it slip away. We wanted to go get the points and maintain the lead. Only.”
The Vikings did that with the help of several freshmen: Riley Rowe (13 points) and Angel Scruggs (11 points).
“Ella made a big basket with a minute left.” said Rabelais coach Mandy Rowe. “Girard was putting pressure on. We wanted her to run the clock, but no one was coming to pick her up. She drove in, got an and-one, and with this her The contract was completed.
“It was a bad game for us. We had a lot of turnovers. I think it was because of our inexperience. But we came out strong and I’m proud of the girls.”
Indians are young and inexperienced.
“We need to grow” Girard coach Joe Bornemis said: “We have a lot of young girls. All but a few girls are sophomores or freshmen. That effort paid off tonight. We got into some bad spots. Things can get worse when you’re at a disadvantage against a disciplined, well-coached team.
“We’ll work those things out in practice. We’ll be playing against three freshmen. If we keep putting them in those situations, they’ll improve as the season goes on.”
Junior Mackenzie White scored a game-high 18 points for Girard. Senior Mia Marito finished with 13 points and sophomore Aly Guzman had 10 points.
Mariah Jones, who had nine points, scored just before the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter for LaBray.
Scruggs stole the ball and put it in to start the second goal. Scruggs and White then traded 3-point baskets to tie the game at 17-17. Senior Eva Preisnaar made a shot from behind the arc to give the Vikings the lead at the break.
Riley Rowe started the second half with a 3-pointer off a corner kick, but White and Guzman held the Indians back and Kushmaul made the finish.