Final farewell
CLARION — Emily Schumacher came off the court late in the fourth quarter to the serenade of “We love Shoe” from the throng of Karns City fans in attendance.
It was a poignant sendoff for the only senior on the Karns City girls basketball roster.
Sadly for Schumacher and her teammates, there are no more games to play. In a season that had seen so many highs, a 64-40 loss to Bishop Canevin in the second round of the PIAA Class AA tournament at Tippin Gymnasium Tuesday night was a decided low.
“My girls busted their butts all season,” said Karns City coach Dave Kerschbaumer. “We just came up against a better team tonight and lost.
“I think our fans are some of best we've had in quite some time,” Kerschbaumer added. “The girls fed off of that and they fed off the girls.”
Bishop Canevin fed off Karns City's early mistakes.
The Crusaders (21-6) jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game. The Gremlins committed turnovers on seven of their first nine possessions and didn't score until there was 3:47 on the first-quarter clock.
Karns City (25-2) made a living this season doing that to the opponent. Bishop Canevin flipped the script.
“That's the first time we did that all year. Once we got through that stretch we were fine,” Kerschbaumer said. “We kind of got it back to where we thought it was a manageable deficit and then some stuff happened.”
The stuff Kerschbaumer was referring to was a key swing in the third quarter.
Karns City had cut the gap to 40-32 and got a steal. Schumacher was driving in for a layup, but, after some contact, missed.
Johnie Olkosky hit a 3-pointer on the other end to start an 11-0 run that put Bishop Canevin up 51-32 after three quarters.
“It was a big swing in the game,” Kerschbaumer said.
Karns City shot just 35 percent from the floor. Bishop Canevin, meanwhile, hit at a 52.3 percent clip.
The Gremlins also committed 23 turnovers and only forced 12. The early onslaught of miscues buried Karns City too far into a hole.“It was one of the few fast starts we've had this season, to be honest with you,” said Bishop Canevin coach Tim Joyce. “We haven't been the fastest-starting team. I think a lot of that had to do with the really tough schedule we play. I don't think we really get the respect we deserve.”The Crusaders, the defending state champion, came into the PIAA playoffs this season with six losses — three against WPIAL Class AA champion Seton-La Salle.“It prepares us,” Joyce said. “We've played six or seven teams this year better than any team anyone else has played. We have two starters back from a state championship team. They shouldn't be fazed.”They weren't.Olkosky and Gina Vallecorsa each scored 17 points to lead Bishop Canevin. Erin Joyce added 11 and Sarah Green 10 for the Crusaders.“The younger kids practiced every day against a state championship team last year,” Tim Joyce said. “That meant a lot.”Karns City will have a lot coming back next year, including LeeAnn Gibson. The forward again imposed her will against one of the best teams in the state with 21 points and 10 rebounds.Gibson is just a sophomore and will be surrounded next year by Annie Hegedus, Emily LoPresti, Shanel Preston and her younger sister, Alyssa Gibson.Karns City's .926 winning percentage is the second best in school history behind the 1999-2000 state championship team that went 31-1.“Tonight is going to hurt. Tomorrow is going to hurt,” Kerschbaumer said. “But I think when you take a step back and look at our season, coming from where we were a couple of seasons ago, winning the KSAC South, winning the KSAC, the district championship and a PIAA game, it should give our girls inspiration to get back here next season.“We have a lot of good things to look forward to,” Kerschbaumer added. “LeeAnn Gibson is certainly one of them, but all five coming back are going to work their butts off this summer.”KARNS CITY 40Emily LoPresti 2-5 2-2 8, LeeAnn Gibson 8-14 5-11 21, Annie Hegedus 3-8 0-0 6, Emily Schumacher 1-4 0-0 2, Shanel Preston 0-9 3-6 3, Alyssa Gibson 0-0 0-0 0, Brody Whited 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Wolfe 0-0 0-0 0, Saydie Moore 0-0 0-0 0, LeErin Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Clara Stoughton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-40 10-19 40.BISHOP CANEVIN 64Erin Joyce 3-11 2-2 11, Caroline DeFrank 2-4 1-3 5, Sarah Green 3-4 4-7 10, Gina Vallecorsa 7-10 2-3 17, Natasha Rajakovich 0-0 0-0 0, Riana Conway 0-0 0-0 0, Karissa Shaner 0-0 0-0 0, Kaley Forster 0-0 0-0 0, Becca Tunney 2-6 0-0 4. Totals: 23-44 11-20 64.Karns City 8 13 11 8 — 40Bishop Canevin18 15 18 13 — 643-point goals: Karns City 2 (LoPresti 2); Bishop Canevin 7 (Joyce 3, Olkosky 3, Vallecorsa 1)
