MOONEY FINISHES OFF HUGE UPSET

YOUNGSTOWN OH- Not many people would have given Mooney much of a chance on Saturday against Salem. After all this Cardinal team got beat up by West Branch just last week. However, the Cardinals canceled out the noise. On the day that the district seeds came out, they knew they could send a statement to everyone in Division 2 if they would be able to beat Salem.

Mooney set the tone early jumping out to an 11-3 lead. Salem only had one bucket from the field during that stretch, and their shooting woes continued all night. Mooney’s offense didn’t light the world on fire, but they did just enough to back up their inspired defense to win 38-36.

Alaina Scavina led the Cardinals with 12 points. All of her points came in the first half. In the second half with the Quakers locking down Scavina, Sophia Diorio stepped up scoring most of her 11 points in the final two frames. Maria Fire played smart in foul trouble and scored an important 7 points. Angelina Rotunno hit huge free throws down the stretch as well.

Salem never stopped battling back. They really started to find a rhythm in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. They were led by Abbie Davidson scoring 12 points. Krista Barley, and Abby Perry both finished with 6 points. All of Barley’s points came from behind the arc.

Next up for Mooney will be a hike matchup with Southeast on Monday night. Salem will try to shake this off and bounce back Saturday hosting Carrollton.

Postgame Interview With Dom Diorio: