Karns City girls basketball finally snaps 16-game losing streak vs Redbank Valley on Naomi Venesky’s 24-point night
KARNS CITY — In the past 16 straight meetings between Karns City girls basketball and Redbank Valley, the Bulldogs had dealt the Gremlins 16 consecutive losses.
Through the first half of Tuesday’s clash at Karns City High School, the Gremlins’ ability to break the streak was in serious doubt. They had missed all nine of their field goal attempts in the second quarter — scoring just three points in the process — and trailed Redbank 17-15.
But KC owned the third period, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-8. Taylor Ritzert’s 3-pointer handed the Gremlins the lead for good with 5:56 left in the quarter, and the hosts earned a long-awaited victory over their rival, 47-31.
The win kept the Gremlins (5-0) undefeated.
“We did not take care of the ball in the first half,” KC coach Steve Andreassi said. “I think half of Redbank’s points came in transition after our turnovers.
“We did a much better job in the second half. A number of players stepped up, on offense and defense. It was a total team effort.”
Leading the charge was senior swing player Naomi Venesky, who scored 14 of her game-high 24 points in the decisive third quarter.
She was in fourth grade the last time KC had defeated Redbank (Jan. 26, 2018) and felt the sting of seven losses to the Bulldogs since the beginning of her freshman season.
“This is awesome, just insane,” Venesky said. “It’s always a fight against Redbank (3-2), but we knew we had it in the second half. The next time we play them (Jan. 23), it will be the same thing.”
Key to the victory was KC’s ability to contain Redbank senior guard Addy Bond, who scored 12 points and reached 1,000 in her career in the game. But she was averaging 20 per contest through four games.
Ritzert, a freshman, was tasked with guarding her for much of the game.
“She’s got no fear. It’s not in her DNA,” Andreassi said of Ritzert. “But we had to play great team defense because (Bond) is great with dribble penetration. We needed to have help defense.”
Ritzert also contributed 11 points, including three treys.
“She gets the job done,” Venesky said of her teammate. “You tell her to do something, she does it.”
Venesky averaged 11 points per game last year, but has reached at least 20 in multiple games this season.
“She’s shooting very well from the outside (four treys Tuesday),” Andreassi said. “She made about 15 (3-pointers) all of last year. But she is also finishing on her drives and that was something she struggled with in the past.”
REDBANK VALLEY 31
Addy Bond 5 2-2 12, Elaina Carrico 2 0-0 4, Quinn White 2 0-0 6, Carly Neiswonger 1 0-0 2, Sydnie Bowser 2 0-2 4, Hadlee Hagan 1 0-0 3, Addy Hetrick 0 0-0 0, Kennedy White 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 2-4 31.
KARNS CITY 47
Naomi Venesky 7 6-9 24, Hannah Summerville 3 1-2 8, Taylor Ritzert 4 0-1 11, Hanna Dailey 2 0-0 4, Alivia Farren 0 0-0 0, Maddie Mahood 0 0-0 0, Audrey Heginbotham 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 7-12 47.
Redbank Valley 6 11 8 6 — 31
Karns City 12 3 24 8 — 47
3-point goals: Redbank Valley 3 (Q.White 2, Hagan); Karns City 8 (Venesky 4, Ritzert 3, Summerville).
Dec. 30: Karns City at Grove City
