State Farm shows championship pedigree
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
Anyone counting out Dax Thomas State Farm in the Mon Valley Independent Summer Basketball League’s girls division had better hold their cards. The defending champions aren’t dead yet.
State Farm used a stifling defensive effort and handed Lee Supply coach Kaitlyn Slagus her first loss with a 52-41 win in the nightcap of Monday’s tripleheader at Marx’s Court Time Sports Center.
State Farm (2-1) used a 10-1 run in the second half, holding Lee Supply to the lone point over a span of nearly five minutes.
“We played really well in spurts and we played really bad defensively in spurts, but overall, I’m happy,” State Farm coach Tommy Rodriguez said. “This is a process for us. I really played the younger girls a lot tonight and they played a little bit better. I wouldn’t really say we were rusty after a week off, but I’m satisfied.”
Brownsville’s Emma Seto led the way for State Farm, netting a team-high 13 points. Serra Catholic’s Chloe Pordash backed her up with 10.
After Lee Supply jumped to a 10-6 lead after seven minutes elapsed, State Farm used a 7-0 run to take a 13-10 lead with four straight points by Seto.
After Jasmyn Fisher gave Lee Supply a 15-13 lead with a 3-pointer at the 6:13 mark, State Farm took the advantage right back with another 7-0 run. Pordash hit a pair of free throws, Lydia Zoglmann from Thomas Jefferson scored on a putback and Belle Vernon Area’s Taylor Rodriguez nailed a trey to make it 20-15.
The run expanded to an 11-1 advantage when Elizabeth Forward’s Haven Briggs scored on a floater and Rodriguez hit another jumper to make it 24-16.
Lee Supply cut into the lead just before the half, scoring the final six points on baskets by TJ’s Graci Fairman, Fisher and Jenna Dawson.
Fairman and Fisher each finished with 14 points for Lee Supply.
“The biggest thing I wanted to see was how we would hold up against their guards,” Tommy Rodriguez said. “They have two good ones with Graci and Jenna. Then you add Fisher for a third.
“I really wanted us to focus on stopping the ball in the open floor. We didn’t do too good of a job in the first half, but we corrected some things and we slowed them down. We really wanted to stop Graci and Jenna.”
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