PARMA, Ohio – A swashbuckling third-quarter effort was at the vanguard of a 48-37 Pirate victory over the Normandy Invaders on Wednesday evening.
Rocky River, which led 21-17 at the half, dispatched the home five for good with a 21-7 third quarter. The Pirates would go on to win by 11 in what marked their third straight victory. Each of those three wins – all Great Lakes Conference affairs – have been away from Rocky River Gymnasium, where the Pirates are now 7-1.
Wednesday’s GLC tilt at Normandy saw the Maroon & White fall behind early. But a second-quarter rally was confirmed by River’s big third, and much of the success in the game’s middle two quarters were set up by Rocky River’s pressure defense.
The Invaders managed four points in the second period and seven in the third. With the final game score, the Pirates have now held foes under 40 points in four of the team’s last five games.
On offense, River got 16 points from Kelsey Murphy, 13 from
Julia Potts and 12 from Maria Potts. Taylor Spies knocked down a couple treys
to give the Pirates some punch from the outside. Rocky River shot 33%
(18-for-55) from the field and 56% (9-of-16) from the free-throw line.
The Pirates (11-3, 7-2 GLC) out-rebounded the Invaders, 32-25. River was a plus-3 in turnover margin (29 to 32). The Double-R collected 22 steals in the game and now has 60 over the team’s last three games.
Maria Potts went 6-of-8 from the line and garnered seven
boards, three assists and three steals. Julia Potts was 6-of-11 from the floor
with seven steals. Taylor Spies had six rebounds and three steals.
The Pirates will close out their four-game road stretch with
a 2 p.m. game at Parma on Saturday.
by Skip Snow
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