Photo by Kim North Monroe Central’s Brylee McFrederick (20) shoots for two of her game-high 16 points Monday night. Defending from behind is Shadyside’s Cam Kolvek, while the Seminoles’ Alli McFrederick (2) and the Tigers’ Kaci Tsoras (5) look on. Monroe Central improved to 2-0 with a 69-33 win.

SHADYSIDE — So far, so good for the Monroe Central girls’ basketball team, but veteran head coach Troy Baker knows there’s tests ahead.

The Seminoles (2-0) won on the road for the second consecutive time Monday night with a dominating, 69-33, decision over Shadyside (0-2) inside the Tigers’ Den. They opened with a victory at Barnesville last Friday.

“We have a lot of talent on this team. I feel like the faster the pace gets, the better we get,” Baker said. “Our team play is going to be the most important thing for us going forward. Tonight we had 18 assists and forced a lot of turnovers. It’s an all-around effort on everyone’s part, and if we get that every night, I think we’ll be hard to beat.”

After the game was deadlocked at 2 and 4, the Tigers took their only lead, 6-4, when Giovanna Hines scored off an offensive rebound. However, the 6-foot sophomore would suffer a serious knee injury late in the opening quarter and left the gymnasium on crutches. Her status is unknown. She had eight points and four rebounds prior to the injury.

“We did some good things, but we also did some bad things,” Shadyside head coach Serge Gentile said. “We’ll work on those things over Thanksgiving and then get back at it next week.

“That was an unfortunate scenario,” he said of the injury. “I’m heartbroken for her … heartbroken for her.”

Monroe Central turned up the defensive pressure a couple of notches, forcing the undermanned Tigers into several quick turnovers that led to fastbreak opportunities in a 13-0 run that built a 17-6 advantage. The first quarter ended with the visitors ahead 24-11 and Shadyside couldn’t recover.

“We handled the pressure early, but they sped us up a couple times in a row and we threw the ball right to them,” Gentile said. “They are a very good team. They are going to have a really good season.”

An 8-0 scoring spree to start the second quarter bumped the margin to 32-11, forcing Gentile into several timeouts to try and keep the contest within striking distance. The Seminoles led 39-17 at the half.

Shadyside once again had trouble handling the ball to start the third quarter as Monroe Central went on a 6-0 run that ballooned the count to 45-17. The Tigers did knock down four three-pointers in the quarter to keep it respectable, but a 13-0 fourth quarter by the Seminoles sealed the verdict.

Brylee McFrederick led a trio of Monroe Central players in double figures with 16 points. Jadyn Miller added 12 and Maci Isaly 10. Miley Bommer and Mayzie Emery evenly split 16.

“If we aren’t worried about who is scoring the points, we’ll be hard to beat,” Baker stressed. “Right now we’re there, so let’s hope we can continue it all year.”

The Seminoles pulled down 36 rebounds as B. McFrederick, Miller and English all had six each. English also charted five steals and handed out six assists, while Miller also had six helpers and Isaly four steals.

Kaci Tsoras also scored eight points for Shadyside. Cam Kolvek added six.

Monroe Central finished with 13 turnovers. Shadyside committed 29.

The Seminoles travel to Morristown to face debuting Union Local on Wednesday.

“That will be the first game, so we know they will be ready to go,” Baker said of the Jets.