REACHONG FOR IT — Big Red’s Terionah Bickerstaff reaches out to corral the ball in front of Catholic Central’s Gemma Rigaud and Aurie Hoover during Friday’s game. - Andrew Grimm

STEUBENVILLE — A few days off for Christmas didn’t slow the roll the Big Red girls basketball team is on. 

Playing in the opening game of the annual Watt/Nese Classic inside the Crimson Center on Friday, Steubenville extended its winning streak to five with a 48-33 victory over cross town foe Catholic Central. 

“The kids are buying in,” Big Red head coach Angie Forte said. “They’re playing together and working hard together. We’re seeing that turn into wins.”

As has been the case on the streak for Big Red, now 6-3, the victory was sparked by contributions up and down the lineup. 

Nylah McShan once again led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Phynyx Fleming tallied 10 points and seven boards. 

All told, six different players found the score sheet for Big Red, which led 16-6 after one quarter and 30-13 at halftime. 

“Everybody did well rebounding, we had kids that don’t normally rebound were rebounding,” Forte said. “Everyone is contributing, everyone is doing something to help the team win. We had contribution from six or seven kids. They’re distributing the ball, hustling, playing good defense.

“They’re putting whole games together.”

While the teams entered with identical records, Central coach Rocky Bragg knew it would be a big test for his team, now 5-4, especially with how well Big Red has been playing of late. 

“They’re on a roll and we caught them at a bad time for us,” Bragg said. “Coach Forte is a friend of mine … I told her before the game how much I admire the job she’s doing with her team. It’s a different roster than she anticipated and she is putting them in the best scenarios, that’s why she has coached at the collegiate level. We ran into that wall today. We ran into to a really good team.

“We are still very young starting three sophomores, they’re still trying to get the feel of this type of game. We’re not built for this type of game yet, but we will be.”

He did see some positives, especially when his team scored 15 points in the fourth quarter. 

“We showed some grit in the second half we didn’t have in the first half,” Bragg added. “The second half we were attacking and making some things happen. Hopefully we can learn from that. We’re on the right path, we still have some work to do, but we’re working hard and getting better. I like our effort.”

Mara Delaney led the way for the Crusaders with 14 points. She was named MVP along with McShan. 

UP NEXT

Catholic Central: Takes on Madonna at Franciscan University on Jan. 4. 

Big Red: Travels to Oak Glen on Monday.