CLARION — Karns City girls basketball coach Dave Kerschbaumer isn't shy about touting his team's stingy defense.

Friday night, Shady Side Academy found out for itself just how stubborn the Gremlins can be.

KC surrendered no more than six points in three of four quarters as the Gremlins grabbed a 39-26 PIAA Class AA first-round playoff win at Clarion University's Tippin Gymnasium.

The Gremlins forced 16 turnovers and held the Indians to a paltry 10-of-45 (22 percent) shooting performance from the field.

"It's all about communication," said Kerschbaumer. "Knowing where the shooter is, things like that. That's how we played in the (District 9) playoffs."

The Gremlins will face Girard, a 50-36 winner over Ford City, on Tuesday at a site and time to be announced.

Even though the Gremlins made only one of their 11 field goal attempts in the first quarter, they trailed just 6-5 entering the second period, thanks to the team's staunch defensive effort.

From midway through the first period until late in the first half, the Indians (19-9) went more than nine minutes without scoring.

Shady Side's Kelsey Olander's basket with 1:03 left before halftime was her team's lone field goal in the second quarter, cutting Karns City's lead to 13-9.

Meanwhile, the Gremlins' offense overcame its first-period slump and became efficient for the rest of the game. From the second quarter on, KC made 11 of 20 field goal attempts.

Senior forward Haley Callihan and junior guard Allyson Kepple led the way, as each recorded 14 points and snared eight and seven rebounds, respectively.

"They've been staples on this team the last few years," said Kerschbaumer. "They're the cornerstones of this program, and, in big games, you need players like that to perform well."

The Gremlins (22-5) held Shady Side's leading scorer, senior guard Katie Sheerer, to five points. She was averaging 12.7 points entering the game.

The Indians received 12 points from Olander, but no other player scored more than five.

Shady Side managed a brief spurt of momentum at the beginning of the second half.

Trailing KC 15-9 as the third quarter began, Shady Side forced three straight turnovers and cut its deficit to 15-13 before Kerschbaumer called a timeout.

"I told one of my assistants that we had to be ready to play right before the second half began, but we weren't," said Kerschbaumer. "I called the timeout and we got back to fundamentals: rebounding and boxing out."

KC redeemed itself by going on an 11-2 run and led the Indians 26-17 with 1:24 left in the third quarter.

The win is Karns City's first PIAA victory since 2004.

"Our celebration after winning District 9 was pretty low-key," said Kerschbaumer. "We felt that there were bigger and better things ahead of us."

Shady Side Academy coach Amy Szlachetka declined to comment after the game.

SHADY SIDE ACADEMY 26Laura Daigneau 0 2-4 2, Katie Sheerer 2 1-2 5, Kelsey Olander 5 2-2 12, Jenny Briston 1 0-0 2, Raediah Lyles 2 0-0 5, Hannah Foster 0 0-0 0, Maria MacPherson 0 0-0 0, Tatayanna Cox-Taylor 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 10 5-8 26.

KARNS CITY 39Tausha Bowser 1 0-2 2, Michelle Sweeney 2 0-0 4, Allyson Kepple 4 6-9 14, Ashley Campbell 0 3-4 3, Haley Callihan 4 5-6 14, Kylee Rankin 1 0-0 2, Kailyn Weibel 0 0-0 0, Julie Zaludek 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 12 14-21 39.

Shady Side Acad. 6 3 11 6—26Karns City 5 10 13 11—393-point goals: Shady Side Academy (Lyles); Karns City (Callihan)

Tuesday: Karns City vs. Girard: PIAA Class AA second round, TBA