Simply dominant
CLARION — From 3-18 to district champion.
Emily Schumacher, Karns City's lone senior, completed that journey Saturday as the Gremlins rolled past Clarion-Limestone, 47-22, in the District 9 Class AA girls basketball title game at Clarion University's Tippin Gymnasium.
The championship marked KC's first district crown since 2008. The Gremlins, 24-1 this season, were 3-18 during Schumacher's freshman year.
“We were able to hand her a district championship trophy today,” KC coach Dave Kerschbaumer said. “That was special.”
For Schumacher, a 5-foot-9 forward, it was hard to put into words.
“That was unreal ... It didn't even feel real,” she said of receiving the trophy. “It's like I was having a dream or something.
“Hard work really does pay off. I put in the time. So did everybody else. We put everything we had into this.”
Hard work paid off for Shanel Preston as well. After missing all of last year with a knee injury, the junior guard had 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals Saturday.
“This was awesome,” Preston said. “I got lanes to the basket because of our defensive pressure creating transition.
“It took me a while this season to get all of my confidence back. It's here now. This felt good today.”
Karns City fell behind 4-1 in the first two minutes before ending the first quarter on an 11-0 run. Seven turnovers by C-L (16-9) helped fuel the rally.
The Lions suffered 26 turnovers in the game, allowing another 11-0 run midway through the third quarter to fall behind 40-14 with 3:11 left in the period. The 22 points scored marked a season-low for C-L.
Karns City entered the contest allowing 35 points per game on average. The Gremlins defeated C-L 75-33 on Jan. 31 in the teams' lone regular season meeting.
“Our defense is so important to everything we do,” Kerschbaumer said. “It enables us to get some quick, easy looks offensively.
“We play six girls and they run, run, run. Their efforts are tireless.”
The Lions managed only 10 field goals on 34 shots and hit one of only five free throw attempts. Leading scorer Lily Port managed only seven points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.“That's the first time we've had a player foul out all year,” C-L coach Doug Rodgers, a Karns City graduate, said. “We're not real deep and that's why we play a 1-2-2 zone.“We had to try something different today or this game would have turned out like the last one. We tried playing man and they didn't beat us quite as badly today.”Clarion-Limestone made its first appearance in the district title game in 20 years.“Doug had a good gameplan and we struggled with it early,” Kerschbaumer admitted. “But our defense is designed to make a team feel uncomfortable with the ball. We were able to take them out of their comfort zone.”C-L averages 49 points per game, but never scored more than seven in a quarter Saturday.“They forced us into some mistakes, but a lot of our turnovers were unforced errors,” Rodgers said. “These girls have never played on a stage like this. I'm sure nerves were a factor.”LeeAnn Gibson had 12 points and eight rebounds for Karns City. Annie Hegedus had seven points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, Emily LoPresti five steals and two assists.Abby Mellott paced C-L with eight points and 14 rebounds.Karns City completed its domination of the District 9 tournament, defeating Brookville by 34 points and Redbank Valley by 24 before Saturday's 25-point victory over C-L.“We're playing with confidence, we're being disruptive and we're playing well together,” Kerschbaumer said.CLARION-LIMESTONE 22Josie Stitt 0-2 0-3 0, Lily Port 3-9 0-0 7, Abby Mellott 4-13 0-0 8, Alissa Burns 2-6 1-2 5, Megan Kelly 1-3 0-0 2, Emily Baker 0-1 0-0. Totals: 10-34 1-5 22.KARNS CITY 47Alyssa Gibson 1-1 0-0 2, Emily LoPresti 2-11 0-1 5, LeeAnn Gibson 3-9 6-9 12, Annie Hegedus 3-6 0-0 7, Emily Schumacher 2-6 0-0 4, Shanel Preston 8-16 0-0 17, Saydie Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Brody Whited 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-49 6-10 47.Cl-Limestone 4 7 7 4 — 22Karns City12 11 20 4 — 473-point goals: Port; LoPresti, Hegedus, PrestonFriday: Karns City vs. Girard, 7 p.m., Clarion High School, in PIAA Tournament
