Logjam builds for Steel City playoff spots

AMD Industries and BeeGraphix each picked up wins to remain two games behind Marie Slagus Howard Hanna Simon.

It was an even contest early, but Marie Slagus Howard Hanna Simon overcame a slow start to pull away for a resounding 59-42 win over Trailside in Steel City Summer Basketball League action from Marx’s Court Time Thursday.

Jules Ott came alive from downtown in the second half to lead all scorers with 17 points, 11 of which came in the final stanza. Mia Sostaric scored 14 and Isabella Niles and KaLeina Earl-Hayden added 12 each for Slagus Howard Hanna (7-1).

“We struggled a little bit early with a couple of early fouls, but I think they started to make good choices offensively as the game went on,” assisting HH coach Steve Norman said. “They moved the ball well and made good choices with the ball. They’re a team that plays well together and is unselfish; everyone is happy to see each other score, so that helps.”

Rhyan Sledge paced Trailside (3-5) with 16 points while Bella Furno added 11 behind her for a Trailside squad that ran low on energy as the game went on.

“The main thing I liked was the grit, the guts and the effort,” Trailside coach Dan Slain said. “These kids were dog tired, and so was the other team so there’s no excuses. But some of these kids have played about 12 games in four days. Everything that worked for us on Tuesday, moving the ball and making shots, it went their way tonight.”

It was going Trailside’s way early before Marie Slagus Howard Hanna Simon came storming back.

Sostaric got started early as Slagus Howard Hanna jumped out to an initial lead, but Trailside came back with a 12-0 run that gave them control.

Trailing 7-2, Furno hit a three to get the scoring started for her squad. After a free throw from Sledge and two more from Nolan Althof, Furno and Charley Murtha hit back-to-back triples to make the score 14-7 in favor of Trailside.

From there, Howard Hanna started to take over, gaining a lead that it would never relent in the victory. Marie Slagus Howard Hanna Simon outscored Trailside 42-28 the rest of the way to get back to its winning ways after its first loss of the season to AMD Industries on Tuesday.

Ott and Niles helped HH tie the game up at 16 before four straight points from Furno. After that, Slagus Howard Hanna matched the earlier 12-0 run with their own as Niles had four, Sostaric and Ott each knocked down a triple and Earl-Hayden made a layup. That made the score 28-20 in favor of HH at the end of one.

Murtha and Sledge opened the half with triples for Trailside to cut its deficit to two points, but it couldn’t keep pace. Ott, Sostaric and Niles got in on the scoring to push it to 44-30 before Ott canned two threes in a row to make it 50-30.

Sledge and Althof scored the next six points for their squad, but Earl-Hayden continued to pile on for HH.

Ava Clark made three of four free throws to cap off the scoring at 5942.

For Marie Slagus Howard Hanna Simon, the performance was a strong one to get back on track.

“They played well together today,” Norman said. “There were a lot of positives to take away, and hopefully they can keep winning games.

As for Trailside, they’ll be hoping to get their legs back before returning to action.

“These games come down to little details and execution,” Slain said. “In a summer league game, it’s the same thing. They’re playing AAU and their legs are tired, and it’s hard to play basketball with tired legs. It affects you getting up and down the floor, shooting the ball, getting side to side on defense, so it’s tough.”

AMD Industries 74, Monessen Florist 47

In a 5-on-5 contest in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader, AMD dialed long distance to thump Monessen Florist (2-6).

AMD drained 14 3-pointers in the win, five each by West Allegheny’s Leila Marchinsky and Norwin’s Giuliana Giannikis. Giannikis led all scorers, pouring in a game-high 31 points for AMD Industries (5-3). Her Norwin teammate Aubrey Graney added 20 points and Marchinsky finished with 15.

Trinity’s Bently Layhue finished with 21 points to lead Monessen Florist.

California’s Hayley Gibson added 18 points in the loss.

BeeGraphix 64, Cedarbrook 61

Canon-McMillan’s Lauren Borella finished with a team-high 25 points and BeeGraphix had three players in double figures to win a thriller over Cedarbrook to cap off Thursday’s action.

Elizabeth Forward’s Michelle Jellison led all scorers with a gamehigh 29 points and kept her team in the game throughout, but it wasn’t enough to take the lead late.

Albert Gallatin’s Mya Glisan (13) and Winchester Thurston’s Skylar Still (10) combined for 23 points for BeeGraphix (5-3).

Penn-Trafford’s Torrie DeStefano scored 10 points to hit double digits for Cedarbrook (1-7).

Steel City Summer League play continues Tuesday with Cedarbrook and Monessen Florist tipping things off at 6 p.m.

AMD Industries will face Trailside at 7, followed by Marie Slagus Howard Hanna Simon and BeeGraphix at 8.