Cardinal Mooney girls get ready for tournament play with 48-26 win over Hubbard
.jpg "Youngstown Cardinal Mooney standout Sophia Diorio (11) gets set to shoot a free throw during Thursday night’s high school girls’ basketball game at Hubbard. Diorio took game-scoring honors with 26 points as the Cardinals won, 48-26.")
HUBBARD — Two teams looking to build some momentum heading into next week’s start of the postseason met Thursday night when Hubbard hosted Cardinal Mooney in a regular-season girls’ basketball finale.
Sophia Diorio leads Cardinal Mooney with 26 points
Cardinal Mooney senior Sophia Diorio made sure it was the Cardinals who would be going into the tourney season on a winning note as she poured in 26 points to lead Mooney to a 48-26 win over the Eagles.
“Hopefully we can carry that momentum (into the tournament),” said a pleased Mooney head coach Dominic Diorio afterward.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 9-13 on the season.
Sophia Diorio, the daughter of coach Diorio, helped Mooney break open a close six-point (29-23) game after three quarters. Mooney outscored the Eagles 19-3 in the final quarter to win the game going away.
“We refocused (in the second half),” observed Dominic Diorio. “I felt like we weren’t focused coming out at the beginning and I think it showed, but we just kind of settled down and I told them to play our game — come out with some energy and some heart and be confident. We refocused and I think we did that much better in the second half.”
“The first half we were in the game,” stated Hubbard head coach Pat Manzo. “I was a two-point game (17-15 at halftime) and I wrote on the board in the first half that we missed eight wide open layups. We did well on our turnovers, but in the second half, that’s when the wheels started falling off, but they played hard right to the end and that’s what I expect of them. Regardless of what the score is, I don’t want them to quit, I want them to keep going and play hard until that buzzer sounds.”
Complementing Sophia Diorio in the scoring column for the Cardinals was Katie Pregibon with eight points and Sophia Rotunno with six markers.
“I’m just proud of the girls,” praised Diorio.
Claire Murphy scored 11 points to lead Hubbard
Pacing young Hubbard was freshman Claire Murphy with 11 points, while junior teammate Jillian Palumbo added five markers.
“I’ve got two seniors and about 10 freshmen and we sprinkle some in between, so we’re kind of young,” said Manzo of his very youthful squad. “We’ve just had trouble putting the ball in the hoop all year. If we can take care of the simple things, it’s a completely different season, but I’m proud of how hard they played. They practice hard every day and they play the games hard and sometimes the ball just doesn’t fall your way.”
With the setback, Hubbard’s record fell to 6-15.
Hubbard was the winner in the junior varsity game by a 27-19 verdict over the Cardinals.
What’s next for Cardinal Mooney and Hubbard?
Mooney will play at Warren Champion (17-5) in the Division III sectional tourney on Wednesday, February 21 at 7 p.m.
“We haven’t played them (the Golden Flashes), obviously, but I know they can shoot,” said the Mooney head coach. “They’re a good team and their record speaks for itself. They have a great coach and he’s always got his team as one of the top teams in the seeding, so it will be fun to go and play a team we haven’t played in the seven years I’ve been at Mooney. It will be good to play a new team.”
Meanwhile, Hubbard will face the winner of the West Branch-Akron Coventry game next Saturday night in a sectional championship on the road. If it’s West Branch, the top seed in the bracket, Manzo says the Warriors are very strong but he knows his team will be ready to play hard.
“They (the Warriors) are a good team, they’re ranked high in the state,” said Manzo. “They play sound and they’ve got a girl (Sophia Gregory) going to YSU and she’s tough, but we’re going to give it everything we can.”
If the sectional championship game does pit Hubbard at West Branch (20-2), the game time of that Saturday, February 24th matchup has been switched from 1 to 7 p.m. The reason for the change is because West Branch is hosting a sectional wrestling tournament in the day, so the sectional girls’ basketball game has been switched to a 7 p.m. evening start.