All Gremlins
KARNS CITY — Dave Kerschbaumer yelled instructions to his team from the Karns City bench.
His players heeded the bellows, hounding Union on defense, getting steals and turning those into easy points.
Meanwhile, Ken Mortimer stood in front of the Union bench, arms folded, with a stoic look on his face. Every now and then, he would close his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
Such was the difference in mood at Karns City High School Tuesday night. The Karns City girls basketball team was aggressive, vigilant and strong. Union, however, was shell shocked as the Gremlins routed the Damsels 51-14.
“Our offense was our defense tonight,” Kerschbaumer said. “I think we pushed it and our bigs got to the block and we fed them. When they started doing that, that opened Annie (Hegedus) up to do what she needed to do.”
After a 4-4 start, Karns City scored the next 33 points to take a 37-4 lead.
Union committed 25 turnovers and missed 20 consecutive shots during that stretch.
If Mortimer's hair wasn't already gray, it would have been after a game like this.
“They're making the same mistakes now as they were making at the beginning of the year,” said Mortimer, pausing and shaking his head. “And I don't know why.”
Union (3-14) has lost nine straight games.
When the Damsels, who committed 38 turnovers in the game, did get into their offense, the result usually was a missed shot. Union was just 6-of-50 from the floor.
Kassie McGarrity was the leading scorer for the Damsels with a mere four points.
Karns City's defense had a lot to do with that, however.
The Gremlins (10-6) were relentless, trapping Union and getting more than 20 steals.
Junior guard Emily Shumacher had nearly half of them, which helped her score 11 points.
“I think Emily Shumacher is finding a little bit of a rhythm up top in our zone and getting after people,” Kerschbaumer said.
Annie Hegedus paced the Gremlins with 17 points.
Hegedus, a sophomore point guard, has had to shoulder a heavier load since sophomore guard Shanel Preston was lost for the season with a severe knee injury.“I think we're getting our momentum back,” Hegedus said. “We're starting to play better as a team.“We played really well on defense tonight,” Hegedus added. “And we didn't let up. Sometimes when we see that score, we calm down and lose it a little bit. We kept at it.”UNION 14Sydney Varner 1-7 0-0 2, Danara Hawk 0-5 0-0 0, Kassie McGarrity 1-9 2-2 4, Mackenzie Divins 0-6 0-0 0, Delani Priester 1-4 0-0 2, Ashley Barger 1-3 0-0 2, Kloe Remmick 0-1 0-0 0, Tabby Deitz 0-1 0-0 0, Kara Flick 0-0 0-0 0, Eiley McGregor 1-3 0-0 2, Leah Milliron 0-5 0-0 0, Shaley Shick 0-2 0-0 0, Kali Flick 0-1 0-0 0, Michaela Lencer 1-1 0-0 2, Erin MacKinley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 6-50 2-3 14.KARNS CITY 51Leah McGuire 0-3 2-2 2, Emily Shumacher 4-6 3-6 11, Annie Hegedus 5-14 6-9 17, Emily LoPresti 4-9 1-4 9, Clara Stoughton 2-3 0-0 5, LeErin Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Brittany Coyle 0-1 0-0 0, LeAnn Gibson 2-10 1-5 5, Abby Wolfe 0-0 0-0 0, Saydie Moore 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 18-51 13-26 51.Union 4 0 6 4—14Karns City15 12 15 9—513-point goals: Karns City 2 (Hegedus, Stoughton)JV: Karns City 38-24Friday: West Forest at Union; Karns City at Clarion-Limestone
