FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- The Pirate offense registered a 60-plus performance for the third time in the team's last three games, as Rocky River defeated Fairview, 64-34, in Wednesday-night Great Lakes Conference action.
River shot a season-best 50.9% (27-of-53) from the floor, and the Pirates' 64 points marked their most since Dec. 9 (77 at Parma). The road rout included the Pirates outscoring the Warriors, 20-2, in the second quarter, 24-2 in transition, and 39-2 in points off turnovers.
The Pirates' top scorers were Ava Patti (career-high 23 points) and Kelsey Murphy (13). The freshman-junior combo exhibited a chemistry that had them feeding off each other as the fed the hoop.
"We were having some fun out there," said Head Coach Elaine Robinson, whose Pirates turned the game into a solid bounce-back from their first loss of the season (Saturday at Elyria Catholic). "We continue to force turnovers, and it was nice to see some better shooting performances in this game."
Prior to Wednesday's game, the Pirates (10-1, 8-1 GLC) had shot under 35% from the field in four of their previous five games.
On defense, Rocky River logged 20-plus steals for a sixth time this season. The Pirates forced 33 turnovers in finishing as a plus-23 in turnover margin. Sophia Murray (six steals) and Annika Mocho (four steals) led the River burglary brigade.
by Skip Snow
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