Key victory for South Side over Carey

After completing the first half of the Conference A-I girls’ basketball schedule with identical 4-3 records, there was plenty on the line when playoff hopefuls South Side and Carey met last Friday to tip-off the stretch run.

A stellar defensive effort spearheaded by senior Juliana Hadjiyane and junior Caroline Spadaro, along with solid offensive contributions by junior Victoria Mercado (15 points, 12 rebounds) and senior Jess Hawley (11 points, eight assists), lifted visiting South Side to a 46-34 victory. The Lady Cyclones held Carey to 12 first-half points on the way to avenging a loss in the conference opener that saw Lady Seahawks junior Victoria Porcasi score 32 points. Porcasi was limited to a season-low seven in the rematch. Freshman Emily Johnson led the hosts with nine points.

“Porcasi’s a big offensive threat and we knew she was the best shooter on the floor,” South Side head coach Katelyn Dunn said. “She was hitting shots from NBA range the first time we played. If they were going to beat us a second time, we didn’t want it to be because of her. I thought we did a great job face-guarding, and we doubled her anywhere she went.”

Carey won the battle on the boards but had difficulty converting shots. “It was an important game and unfortunately we had a tough time scoring,” Lady Seahawks head coach Teresa Schmidt said. “We didn’t see a box-and-one from them the first time, but it’s not a new thing for us. We just didn’t shoot well. We had a lot of rebounds and a lot of opportunities, but we weren’t able to finish.”

South Side got field goals from four different players in the first quarter, including a trey from Hawley, and never trailed after a Hadjiyane (six points) basket made it 9-7 at the end of the opening stanza. The second quarter belonged to Mercado, who sank two shots from behind the arch and also beat the buzzer to end the first half with a running layup that increased the lead to 23-12. “Mercado’s been a consistent scorer,” Dunn said. “There were a couple of times when they started to make a little run and she’d hit a shot to get us going again.”