CLARION — Karns City weathered the first storm.

The Gremlins weren't so fortunate the second time around.

Lakeview scored 14 points in the final four minutes of the third quarter, opening a 38-17 lead in the process, and cruised to a 54-29 victory in a first-round PIAAClass AAgirls basketball tournament game Friday night at Clarion University.

The 29 points marked a season-low for Karns City (16-10).

The Sailors (23-5), who won for the 12th time in 13 games — their lone loss during that stretch was a 54-48 decision to Sharon in the District 10 championship gam — jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the first six minutes Friday.

"We came out on fire,"Lakeview coach Steve Aden said. "Then we hit a lull."

Karns City pulled within 16-12 with 2:58 left in the first half as Lakeview standout Sheena Aden went to the bench with two fouls late in the first quarter.

Senior Melissa Collier came off the bench to score a layup on a fast break and to drain a free throw on the Gremlins' next possession to close the gap.

Aden returned to score buckets on three consecutive Lakeview possessions before KCsophomore Allyson Kepple drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Karns City trailed 22-15 at intermission.

"We were in the game for a while,"Karns City coach Dave Kerschbaumer said. "Then we lost our confidence.

"Playing with confidence has been a key for us all year. We concentrate on doing the little things well. Tonight we started off missing shots, then began making mistakes defensively to allow them some easy buckets in transition."

When Aden sank two free throws with 4:18 left in the third quarter, she had 17 points to Karns City's 15. She also started a 14-0 Sailors run that iced the game.

"They began pressing us in the second half, so I put Sheena back in,"Coach Aden said. "It's hard to press us when the ball is in her hands.

"Our goal was to hold them to 15 points in the first half, but it was a sloppy 15 on our part. We were missing free throws and weren't playing with intensity.

"This is the state playoffs. Play a half like that against Greensburg Central and we're down by 30. I gave our team a pretty good tongue-lashing at halftime,"Aden admitted.

It worked.

Lakeview sank all 10 of its free throws in the second half and outrebounded the Gremlins 18-9 in the final two quarters.

Through three periods, KCtrailed 38-18 and had made only five of 27 shots from the floor.

"We were getting open shots and plenty of layup chances,"Kerschbaumer said. "We just couldn't convert."

Aden led the Sailors with 26 points, five rebounds and four steals. Aden is the school's all-time leading scorer with more than 1,800 points.

Chelsey Frye added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Sailors. Freshman Mary Koller had eight points and eight rebounds off the bench. Lakeview had a 36-27 rebounding edge overall and had 11 turnovers to Karns City's 19.

Kepple had 12 points and Haley Callihan contributed nine rebounds for Karns City. Collier had nine points off the bench.

The loss ended the basketball careers of Gremlins seniors Collier, Ashley Fuhrer, Mallory Craig and Brianna Markle.

"These girls made history at Karns City," Kerschbaumer said. "They put another district championship up, following in line with great teams from the past. This is the second district title for these seniors. They've certainly left their mark."

LAKEVIEW54Chelsey Frye 1-7 9-11 11, Jackie Armstrong 2-5 0-0 4, Cami Frye 1-8 0-2 2, Sheena Aden 11-18 4-4 26, Sara Morneweck 1-3 0-0 3, Mary Koller 4-7 0-0 8, Brittany Casciotti 0-1 0-0 0, Meghan Miles 0-1 0-0 0, Jessica Grayson 0-0 0-0 0, Elise Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-50 13-17 54

KARNSCITY29Tausha Bowser 0-4 2-4 2, Allyson Kepple 5-9 1-4 12, Melissa Collier 3-9 2-4 9, Ashley Campbell 1-1 0-0 2, Haley Callihan 0-10 2-2 2, Kailyn Weibel 1-1 0-0 2, Ashley Fuhrer 0-1 0-0 0, Mallory Craig 0-2 0-0, Brianna Markle 0-2 0-1 0. Totals: 10-39 7-12 29

Lakeview 14 8 16 16—54Karns City 7 8 3 11—293-point goals: Morneweck; Kepple, Collier