KC girls claim District 9 3A title
CLARION — The opening moments of Tuesday’s District 9 Class 3A girls basketball championship game offered no indication that Karns City was in for a night of frustration on the offensive end of the court.
Baskets from Emma Dailey, Chloe Fritch and Brooklynn Taylor in the first 90 seconds earned KC a quick 6-0 lead against Kane.
But then the Gremlins hit a lull and they could not shake the struggles for the rest of the game.
It was the team’s suffocating defense that was mostly responsible for a 28-21 victory over the Wolves at Clarion University’s Tippin Gymnasium.
“Going into this game, I told the players that the team that works together wins together,” said KC senior forward Emma Dailey. “We were confident the entire night that we’d come out on top.”
The Wolves (11-12) were held to just six field goals in 23 attempts and committed 22 turnovers, scoring just eight points in the second half.
KC (15-8) sputtered with 21 turnovers of its own and shot 21 percent from the field (10 of 47).
“Ideally, this was not the type of game we wanted to play,” said Gremlins’ coach Steve Andreassi. “It wasn’t necessarily all shot selection on our part. A lot of it came down to finishing and we didn’t finish well.”
“Kane’s pressure bothered us, but we did everything we needed to do defensively to win tonight.”
Kane’s final bucket, from Hailey Hillman with 42 seconds left, cut the Gremlin lead to 25-21, but the Wolves got no closer.
“Down the stretch, we did hit some baskets and free throws to ice the game,” said Andreassi.
The Gremlins played staunch defense the entire game, but it was magnified in the third quarter when they held the Wolves to just two points on free throws and forced eight turnovers.
“We threw our defense at them and it worked wonders for us,” said Dailey.
Chloe Fritch scored eight points for KC. Kane’s Mia Anderson tallied 11 points, including two baskets late in the first half that pulled the Wolves to within 17-13 by halftime.
KC’s win sends it to Saturday’s Subregional here at noon against the winner of Tuesday’s game between Chestnut Ridge and Westinghouse. Regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s game, both teams involved will compete in the state playoffs.
KANE 21
Leah Tigani 1 1-3 3, Hailey Hillman 1 0-1 2, Maya Smith 0 3-5 3, Mia Anderson 3 5-6 11, Emma Danielson 1 0-0 2, Rylee Haight 0 0-0 0, Cora Jekielek 0 0-0 0, Totals: 6 9-15 21.
KARNS CITY 28
Emma Dailey 2 0-0 4, Chloe Fritch 3 2-4 8, Hanna Dailey 1 1-5 3, Savanna Prescott 1 2-2 4, Brooklynn Taylor 2 3-5 7, Naomi Venesky 1 0-1 2, Jordan Macurak 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 8-17 28.
Kane 5 8 2 6 — 21
Karns City 9 8 5 6 — 28
3-point goals: None
Saturday: Karns City vs. Chestnut Ridge/Westinghouse winner, PIAA Class 3A Subregional, Clarion University, noon
