Story and photo gallery by CHRIS BROOKS
FRIENDSHIP — A slow opening frame developed to get the Sectional season get underway for both No. 9 Jasper-Troupsburg and No. 8 Friendship/Scio in the girls side of the Class D2 bracket on Wednesday, with the winner punching their ticket to visit top-seeded Northstar this weekend in the next stage.
Both teams fought their way through a close battle in the first quarter, but then the second quarter saw one team begin to break away. That being the ninth-seeded Lady Wildcats, as they posted two scoreless runs in the first half against Friendship/Scio, the latter coming right before halftime to push their lead to double digits ultimately for good, securing the upset victory by a 51-30 count to advance to this weekend’s Quarterfinal round.
“We had it down to nine toward the end, and then the wheels fell back off,” Friendship/Scio coach Ashleigh Lewis said. “It’s really hard to win a basketball game when we can’t find a way to get the shots to fall. It’s been our main thing all season. We get the shots, the looks we want, but we can’t put them away. It’s a process, and we’ve started from scratch since the start of the year. Hopefully tonight will help us get better going forward.”
The Lady Wildcats took the early advantage right out of the gate after a slow offensive spurt by both sides, as they went on to record the first of two scoreless runs through the first half to grab the advantage over Friendship/Scio (7-14). Led by a pair of baskets from Lauren Ross and Natalie Cornell, as well as a Kayla Atherton three-pointer, it provided Jasper-Troupsburg a 7-0 run near midway to work with.
That seven-point buffer would remain throughout the half until the visitors in black and gray doubled the size to 14 when halftime arrived, accounting for another long run that saw as large of a lead as 16 develop, with Ross leading the way with five more points within the team’s 9-0 run of Friendship/Scio to help close out the half.
Friendship/Scio would attempt to chip away at their deficit through the second half, getting it to as low as nine, but the first half runs provided by Jasper-Troupsburg would prove to be too much to overcome in the end, as they went on to outscore the hosts in white and purple in the last two quarters to solidify their lead for good.
Nevaeh Ross led the offense for Friendship/Scio with a game-high 13 points to pair with nine rebounds, nearly completing a double-double. Kadence Donohue drained three of the team’s six three-pointers, for nine points to couple alongside with six rebounds of her own.
Friendship/Scio’s season is officially over, as they conclude their 2021-22 campaign with an overall record of 7-14. The team will graduate just two Seniors at the end of the year, in Melana Davenport and Keely Sisson.
Jasper-Troupsburg 12 14 11 14 – 51
Friendship/Scio 5 7 8 10 – 30
JASPER-TROUPSBURG: Kayla Atherton 4 1-2 12, Lauren Ross 5 0-0 12, Zoe Cornell 1 0-2 2, Natalie Cornell 5 1-2 11, Savannah Hertzler 2 0-0 4, Reagan Miles 4 0-0 8. Totals: 22 2-6 51.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Nevaeh Ross 5 1-3 13, Claire Calhoun 1 0-0 2, Kadence Donohue 3 0-0 9, Morghyn Ross 1 0-0 3, Melana Davenport 0 1-2 1, Kiara Grover 1 0-0 2. Totals: 11 1-3 30.
3-point goals: J-T 5 (Atherton 3, Ross 2), F/S 6 (Donohue 3, N. Ross 2, M. Ross).
Total Fouls: J-T 9, F/S 7. Fouled out: None.
Class C2 First Round
No. 8 Warsaw 61, No. 9 Cuba-Rushford 36
WARSAW — Warsaw’s Emma Tangeman was simply unstoppable on the floor on Wednesday, as the Lady Tigers sharpshooter put together a game-high performance that allowed a tone against No. 9 Cuba-Rushford to be set in the first quarter and onward, as the No. 8 seeds rolled their way towards triumph with a 61-36 home win over the Lady Rebels.
Cuba-Rushford 11 3 12 10 – 36
Warsaw 21 6 18 16 – 61
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Shae Maples 2 0-2 4, Aubrey Williams 1 0-0 3, Ella Jaffe 0 1-2 1, Brynn Lavery 2 0-0 5, Gabby Kranock 1 1-2 3, Aleah Demick 1 0-0 2, Taylor Searle 6 1-2 16, Raegan Poore 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 3-8 36.
WARSAW: Leah O’Geen 2 0-0 4, Mattie Heim 2 5-7 9, Taylor Howard 3 0-0 6, Emma Tangeman 12 3-4 28, Alyssa Jones 1 0-0 2, Kaelyn Keefer 2 0-0 4, Abby Laubenheimer 1 0-2 2, Carlee Hunt 3 0-0 6, Morgan Langdon 0 0-2 0. Totals: 26 8-15 61.
3-point goals: C-R 5 (Searle 3, Williams, Lavery), Warsaw 1 (Tangeman).
Total Fouls: C-R 14, Warsaw 7. Fouled out: None.
Class C3 First Round
No. 8 Red Jacket 43, No. 9 Bolivar-Richburg 32
SHORTSVILLE — The Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg traveled right alongside No. 8 Red Jacket throughout the first half of play in their Class C3 opening round battle on Wednesday. Although the Lady Indians held a seven-point lead entering the break, they held the momentum.
Upon their return to the floor for the second half, they used it all to pull themselves away from their ninth-seeded opposition, holding them scoreless in a third quarter that made all the difference in the end for Red Jacket to advance onward to the Quarterfinal stage with a 43-32 win over Bolivar-Richburg.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Emma Sisson 0 0-2 0, Raegan Giardini 0 0-2 0, Destiny Cantrell 1 0-0 2, Kayli Giardini 6 1-5 16, Carmen Crowley 3 0-0 6, Jessica Majot 4 0-2 8. Totals: 14 1-11 32.
RED JACKET: Maddie Chase 1 0-0 2, Emily Record 4 1-4 9, Brie Commisso 1 0-0 3, Ella Pysnack 2 1-2 7, Leah Batterson 2 2-2 8, Anna Penird 1 1-2 4, Natalie Lecceardone 3 1-3 7, Mary English 1 1-2 3. Totals: 15 7-15 43.
3-point goals: B-R 3 (K. Giardini), RJ 6 (Pysnack 2, Batterson 2, Commisso, Penird).
Total Fouls: B-R 13, RJ 17. Fouled out: None.
