Crest girls rout McCaskey as Jones hits 1,000
The Cedar Crest girls basketball team was all about numbers on Tuesday night - 1,000 and 14-0, to be specific.
The Falcons continued their rampaging, unbeaten season Tuesday with the help of their rampaging, unstoppable point guard, blasting McCaskey 62-42 on the same night that floor leader Ariel Jones joined the career 1,000-point club.
Needing 16 for 1,000 coming into the contest, Jones exploded for 28, reaching the milestone on a right wing 3-pointer 55 seconds into the third quarter that served as the highlight of another dominant performance that left Cedar Crest 14-0 and searching in vain for an honest-to-goodness test from anyone on its schedule.
Yeah, times are good in Falconland these days.
"They put on a show," was head coach Jim Donmoyer's accurate assessment of his squad's performance. "I'm happy with the win, first of all. That was most important, but with Ariel I was obviously happy to see both of them happen in the same game. Get it at home, win a game. We're two games up on everybody (in Section 1), so they gotta come and get us."
Good luck catching the Falcons with the speedy, savvy Jones leading the way. Cedar Crest got solid efforts from Jones' fellow 1,000-point clubber Alyssa Austin (10 points), Gracen Donmoyer (8 points), Raven Morgan (7) and Kelsey Guth (5), but Jones was simply sensational - again - while leading the Falcons to yet another victory.
On the way to her 28 points, Jones converted a four-point play, an old school 3-point play, grabbed loose balls all over the floor along with nine rebounds, and even added an emphatic blocked shot in the fourth quarter to punctuate her big night.
"It's great," Jones said, flashing a smile. "Coming into the game I was a little nervous about it, but I think the No. 1 thing on my mind was to just get the win. But it was great to have that accomplishment and all these people here to support me. And all my teammates, they were really proud of me and happy for me."
The Falcons took all the mystery out of the contest early, using five straight points by Donmoyer to open the contest and ultimately grab a 19-5 lead after the first quarter.
The lead grew to 24-5 on an Austin '3' early in the second, leaving the outcome in little doubt and all the focus on Jones' quest for 1,000. She tallied 14 points before intermission to move to the brink of 1,000, then jumped past it the aforementioned 3-pointer less than a minute into the second half.
"I didn't really get to see it go in," Jones said with a laugh of the milestone points. "But I guess it went in. It was great to do it at home, too, and I'm glad that we're still undefeated."
"It means the world," Donmoyer said of Jones reaching 1,000. "She's a great kid, super kid."
And she's not the only one, according to Donmoyer, who already has a soft spot in his heart for this team, both for what it's already accomplished and for what it may yet achieve.
"As far as a team, this is the best team I've ever coached," Donmoyer said. "I've had teams with more talent, but I'm telling you these kids buy in to what they have to do, and it's all about winning."
Cedar Crest 62, McCaskey 42
McCaskey (42)
Short 4 4-7 12, Parker 4 1-4 9, Reid-White 0 3-4 3, Perry 3 0-0 6, Todd 1 7-8 9, Gibson 1 1-2 3, Richardson 0 0-0 0, Taylor 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 16-25 42.
Cedar Crest (62)
Jones 10 4-4 28, Donmoyer 2 3-4 8, Witherite 1 1-2 3, Morgan 3 1-2 7, Austin 4 0-0 10, Rolon 0 0-0 0, Guth 2 1-2 5, Bucher 0 1-2 1. Totals: 22 11-16 62.
McCaskey 5 12 14 11 - 42
Cedar Crest 19 11 17 15 - 62
3-pointers: CC - Jones 4, Austin 2, Donmoyer.