MOUNT CARMEL - North Schuylkill coach John Rizzo knew if his Spartans were going to beat Mount Carmel they were going to have to play good defense.
Boy, did they.
The Spartans forced the Red Tornadoes into 29 turnovers and held them to six points in the second half for a 44-25 win Wednesday at Mount Carmel, handing the Tornadoes (1-1) their first regular season loss since the 2010-11 season.
"We knew they had some players," Rizzo said. "(Ali) Varano, (Paige) Hornung and (Christina) Perles, they have some talent. We stressed to the girls that we really had to play 'D', and thankfully, we did. We're an entirely different team from last year but one thing we are is deep. We can keep rotating people in and they all play good defense."
Nina Marone, Justine Paul and Tiff Lapotsky all scored nine points to pace the Spartans' offense, but it was the defense played by the whole team that was the difference. Paul and Lapotsky, who came off the bench, took turns plugging up the middle. Paul had eight rebounds, and Lapotsky had six rebounds and, more importantly, seven steals.
The Red Tornadoes, led by Ali Varano, hung tough in the first half, but really had problems after the break. They had trouble bringing the ball upcourt and, when they did, couldn't finish at the basket, making just 2 of 13 shots.
"Turnovers will kill you every time," said Mount Carmel coach Lisa Varano. "We did a pretty good job breaking their press initially, but then when we did we'd throw it away. Then you get frustrated and it kind of snowballs on you."
Varano scored 11 of her 12 points in the first half to keep Mount Carmel close and also had six steals. Anna Raybuck scored six points with eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
"We have to minimize our turnovers," Lisa Varano said. "I thought our defense was a little slow, too. But North Schuylkill is a well coached team and very aggressive on defense. They're going to have a good season."
Rizzo said the same of the Red Tornadoes.
"They're a good team," Rizzo said. "They miss their quarterback (graduated point guard Heather Bolick). We wanted to come in here and play with them in what we knew would be a hostile environment. We played very well but they'll be tough."
Game Summary
NORTH SCHUYLKILL (44) - Marone 4 1-1 9, Paul 4 0-0 9, Reinoehl 0 0-0 0, Spotts 2 0-0 5, Damiter 0 0-0 0, Long 0 0-0 0, Lapotsky 4 1-2 9, Zimmerman 0 0-0 0, Grasso 0 0-0 0, Bolinsky 3 0-0 6, Warcola 0 0-0 0, Stokes 0 0-0 0, Grigas 2 0-0 4, Fetterolf 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 4-5 44.
MOUNT CARMEL (25) - Hornung 0 0-1 0, Varano 4 4-8 12, Perles 1 2-2 4, Nestico 0 0-0 0, Raybuck 3 0-0 6, Bolick 0 0-0 0, Winhofer 0 0-0 0, Hood 0 0-0 0, Montgomery 0 0-0 0, Klinger 0 0-0 0, Stellar 0 3-4 3. Totals 8 9-15 25.
