CLARION - Karns City couldn't see the basket through the trees.

Cranberry used its height and the presence of its most dangerous imposing figure in the paint, Mandy O'Neil, to turn away the Gremlins 50-40 in the quarterfinal round of the District 9 Class AA girls basketball playoffs at Clarion University Friday night.

O'Neil had a triple double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks for the Berries.

Not only did O'Neil, a 6-foot senior, hurt Karns City (12-14) on offense she devastated it on defense with her long, lanky arms and penchant for the rejection.

"She held down the fort," said Cranberry coach Chris Stefanini. "Her presence was felt every time they drove to the basket."

O'Neil altered shots and swatted them away without prejudice.

"You don't see that a lot in girls basketball," said Karns City coach Chris Bellis. "We needed to do a shot fake, get her up in the air and draw a foul. We did that one time all night."

Despite O'Neil's profound affect on the game, the Gremlins trailed by just two at the half and when Haley Callihan hit a layup early in the third quarter, Karns City deadlocked the game at 21.

But Cranberry responded with a 14-2 run to end the quarter with a double-digit lead and cruised in the fourth quarter.

"We knew it was going to be a dog fight," Stefanini said. "We knew Karns City wasn't just going to quit. We beat a good team tonight."

Morgan Summerville kept the Gremlins in the game with hot shooting from the outside. The sophomore hit four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 15 points.

KARNS CITY 40

Allyson Kepple 2-7 2-3 7, Melissa Collier 1-5 2-2 3, Laura Kepple 0-3 0-0 0, Brittany Green 0-4 0-0 0, Haley Callihan 5-13 1-1 11, Jamie Reott 0-2 0-0 0, Ashley Fuhrer 1-5 0-0 3, Morgan Summerville 5-12 1-2 15, Brianna Markle 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 14-54 6-8 40

CRANBERRY 50

Jessica Jack 3-4 3-7 9, Mandy O'Neil 6-11 5-9 17, Kasey Morrow 5-11 0-0 10, Ashley Ahrens 1-6 5-6 8, Cassie Sanford 1-2 1-2 3, Samantha Stearns 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 17 14-24 50

3-point goals:

A. Kepple, Fuhrer, Summerville 4, Ahrens, Stearns