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No matter what age or competition level, it still boils down to putting the ball in the basket.
Brookfield High girls basketball team played well in virtually every facet Monday night against visiting Newton Falls, and the Lady Warriors could have won against the 1-loss Lady Tigers.
But Brookfield brokered just 8-for-38 shooting and suffered a 32-24 setback.
Kayla Boyer’s basket from the right wing with 4:45 remaining to intermission was Brookfield’s initial bucket. Remarkably, the Lady Warriors were trailing only 8-6 at that juncture.
“Defensively, we can play with anybody; offensively ... we don’t have anybody averaging in double figures, and that’s hurting us,” summarized Brookfield bench boss Shawn Hammondm, who wistfully added, “Finding ways to score ...”
Despite the Lady Warriors’s shooting woes, they were knotted at 17 with 1:39 remaining in the 3rd quarter on Brooke Hiner’s pair of free throws. But Brookfield, after commiting 7 first-half turnovers, made 9 second-half miscues, 6 during the 4th frame.
“We’ve played everybody tough. We’re just getting turnovers at the wrong times ... at the worst possible times we’re getting turnovers,” Hammond summarized regarding the 16 his club committed. “We missed some layups early. ... We’re just struggling to score.”
“The Brookfield team always plays extremely well defensively. They’re very well coached, and I have a lot of respect for Coach Hammond and his program,” 8th-year Lady Tigers’ taskmaster Mark Baker praised. “Any time these two teams get together you can eliminate the records ... and you can expect a close, defensive battle.
“They play an aggressive style of defense, we play an aggressive style of defense, and both teams, it seems every year, struggle to shoot the basketball against each other because of the defensive intensity,” Baker added.
During the final frame, while the Lady Warriors went 2 for 9 from the floor, Newton Falls finished 4 for 8, though the Lady Tigers turned overall the ball 5 times and missed 4 of 5 free-throw attempts.
For the Falls (15-1) — which has lost only to OHSAA Division I Austintown-Fitch — Brooke Barreca bucketed a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double to emerge as the lone double-figure scorer for either squad.
Owing to Baker’s point regarding Brookfield’s defense, the Falls finished 11 for 39 from the field (28.2 percent), 7 for 18 from the charity stripe, and committed 18 miscues. But the Lady Tigers’ outrebounded Brookfield, 38-23, as Hannah Zelle corralled 9 more caroms.
A member of the All-American Conference National Division and headed to the Mineral Ridge Sectional, Baker’s benchmark for a single season is 18 wins, so he’s hopeful his youthful Lady Tigers (2 seniors) can continue their success.
Ashley Kirila copped a game high-equalling 9 caroms and scored 6 points — all on freebies — for Brookfield (5-8). The Lady Warriors were 8 for 14 from the line, also.
“Team are playing us zone, and you’ve gotta make some shots, it’s that simple” Hammond said. “When we get the ball inside, we need to work it inside, and we’re not. No rhythm in that. A couple sessions we did, threw it inside and kicked it out and had some outside shots. ... But we just can’t consistently do it.
“We’ve just gotta hope within the next three weeks it starts clicking and we can start making some outside shots, ’cause that changes everything. We’re able to press and do some other things. we’d like to do. But when you’re not scoring, you can’t do it,” Hammond concluded. — By Ed Farrell, Herald assistant sports editor.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
ä Kennedy Catholic 72, Jamestown 13 — At “The Fish Tank” in Jamestown, KC (6-0, 16-2) led 37-3 after the opening quarter and rolled to the Region 1-A win over the winless Lady Muskies (0-6, 0-17).
Alex Ricketts rifled in 23 points to key KC while Taylor Hood scored a dozen and Tatum Kress added 11. Rachel Burns had 6 points and is now at 976 for her career.
Isabella Greenawalt paced Jamestown with 5 points.
ä Commodore Perry 42, Farrell 29 — At Sheakleyville, coach Bob Messina earned his 1st-ever win versus Farrell in his 6 years of coaching the Lady Panthers.
CP (3-3, 6-10) led 13-9 after 8 minutes of play and outscored the Lady Steelers 12-2 in the 2nd quarter to pull away in the Region 1-A clash.
“It was a much-needed win,” said Messina. “It gets us even in the region and back in the hunt. We still have a lot of work to do, but it was a nice win.”
Kate Powell scored 15 to lead CP while Emily Kitchen grabbed 10 rebounds and Lexi Grinnell dished out 8 assists.
Whitney Murray notched 7 points for Farrell (3-3, 9-8).
ä Sharpsville 32, Greenville 18 — At Greenville, the visiting Blue Darlings drove to their 9th victory in their last 10 outings with the Region 2-AA road rout.
McKenzie Popatak produced a 12-point, 17-rebound double-double to stoke Sharpsville (8-0, 11-6), while Megan Davis drilled 11 points, including a trio of treys, and Natalie Henwood handed out 7 assists for Sharpsville skipper Jeff Hanley.
For Greenville (3-5, 5-10), which has dropped 4 of its last 5 games, Jessica Burnett bucketed 10 tallies.
ä Mercer 50, West Middlesex 32 — At Mercer, Alexis Arkwright fired in a career-high 33 points in leading the Lady M’s (5-2, 12-5) past WM (1-7, 6-11) in the Region 2-AA encounter.
Mercer led 25-7 after 8 minutes of play, 37-13 at halftime and cruised to the win.
Molly Stitt and Alexis Summers both had 9 points each for the Ms. Reds.
ä Wilmington 56, Lakeview 34 — At Stoneboro, the Lady ’Hounds (4-4, 6-10) were up 32-17 at the break and cruised to the Region 2-AA victory against the Lady Sailors (1-7, 5-12).
Alanna Elliott fired in 18 points for Wilmington while Tess Sikora and Cassidy Marett had 9 points each.
Casey Stringer led Lakeview with 9 points.
ä Hickory 62, Cochranton 35 — At “The Hive” in Hermitage, the Region 5 Lady Hornets (14-2) led 23-7 after 8 minutes of play and rolled to the non-region win against the Region 3 Lady Cardinals (10-7).
Nikki Arbanas fired in 22 points had 9 steals and 5 assists for Hickory while Holly Grober registered 21 points, 5 boards, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Also for Hickory, Brandi Beader had 6 rebounds, Megan Chess posted 3 boards and 2 assists, Julie White dished out 3 assists, Jasmine Shephard collected 3 steals and 5 assists and Katie Gustas grabbed 3 rebounds.
Madison Bernarding led the way for Cochranton with 14 points.
ä Monday’s Oil City-at-Grove City game has been postponed to Wednesday while the Reynolds-at-Rocky Grove game was moved to Feb. 6.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
NEWTON FALLS 6 6 11 9 32
BROOKFIELD 2 8 9 5 24
NEWTON FALLS — Abraham 0-0-0-0, Barreca 7-0-5-14, Zelle 0-4-6-4, King 3-0-1-7, Workman 1-0-0-2, Kline 1-2-4-4, Hobson 0-1-2-1. 3-pt. goal: King 1. Totals: 12-7-18-32.
BROOKFIELD — Boyer 1-0-0-2, DiCristofaro 1-2-2-4, Kirila 1-4-8-6, Thompson 2-0-0-4, Foster 0-0-0-0, Harpster 0-0-0-0, Hawley 2-0-0-4, Corns 0-0-00, Gauding 0-0-0-0, Hiner 0-2-4-2, Saxton 1-0-0-2. Totals: 8-8-14-24.
JV — Newton Falls, 28-27. Destiny May 11 points for Brookfield; Devan Houshour 6 for Newton Falls.
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KENNEDY 37 19 8 8 72
JAMESTOWN 3 4 2 4 13
KENNEDY CATHOLIC — O’Brien 3-0-0-6, Kress 4-3-4-11, Hood 4-3-5-12, Kish 3-0-0-6, Burns 2-2-2-6, Ricketts 8-4-5-23, Bocian 4-0-0-8. 3-pt. goals: Ricketts 4, Hood 1. Totals: 28-12-16-72.
JAMESTOWN — Harnett 1-0-0-2, Liszka 0-0-0-0, McLaughlin 0-0-0-0, Miller 1-0-0-2, Mitchell 0-0-0-0, Robinson 0-0-0-0, Greenawalt 2-1-2-5, Kell 0-0-0-0, Keyser 1-0-0-2, Sankey 1-0-0-2. Totals: 6-1-2-13.
JV — KC, 57-15. Tatum Kress 12, April Bocian 12, Olivia O’Brien 10, Taylor Hood 10 for KC.
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FARRELL 9 2 12 6 29
COMM. PERRY 13 12 4 13 42
FARRELL — Scott 2-1-3-6, Oatis 2-1-6-5, Polk 2-0-0-4, Page 2-1-2-5, Sharper 1-0-0-2, Murray 3-1-5-7. 3-pt. goal: Scott 1. Totals: 12-4-16-29.
COMMODORE PERRY — Powell 5-5-9-15, Campbell 4-0-0-8, L. Grinnell 3-0-0-6, Kitchen 3-1-2-7, A. Nagy 0-0-0-0, S. Grinnell 0-0-0-0, Vaughn 3-0-0-6. Totals: 18-6-11-42.
JV — Farrell, 40-24. Jacque Chambers 10 for Farrell.
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SHARPSVILLE 7 4 9 12 32
GREENVILLE 4 2 8 4 18
SHARPSVILLE — Davis 4-0-0-11, Przicina 1-5-6-7, Popatak 4-4-4-12, Scurpa 0-2-6-2, Henwood 0-0-4-0, Kurelko 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Davis 3. Totals: 9-12-20-32.
GREENVILLE — Fagley 1-2-5-4, Williams 1-0-0-2, Burnett 4-0-0-10, Healy 1-0-0-2, Fenton 0-0-0-0, Marini 0-0-0-0, Montalvo 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Burnett 2. Totals: 7-2-5-18.
JV — Sharpsville, 33-31. Maddie Przicina 11 for Sharpsville. Jessica Fenton 10 for Greenville.
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COCHRANTON 7 6 8 14 35
HICKORY 23 15 12 12 62
COCHRANTON — Offi 0-1-2-1, Ke. Dickson 2-1-2-6, Quickel 1-0-0-2, Bernarding 7-0-0-14, Ecli 1-0-0-2, Clulow 1-0-0-2, Ka. Dickson 3-2-2-8, Knauf 0-0-0-0, Vincent 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goal: Ke. Dickson 1. Totals: 15-3-6-35.
HICKORY — Bible 0-0-0-0, Arbanas 7-6-6-22, Chess 2-1-2-5, Moore 1-0-0-2, Gustas 0-0-0-0, Marchand 0-0-0-0, Shephard 0-0-2-0, Zreliak 1-0-0-2, Beader 3-0-0-8, White 1-0-0-2, Grober 8-5-7-21. 3-pt. goals: Arbanas 2, Beader 2. Totals: 23-12-17-62.
JV — Hickory, 41-26. Lexi Bible 12 for Hickory.
———
WILMINGTON 32 56
LAKEVIEW 17 34
WILMINGTON — Sikora 9, Christofferson 8, Drake 6, Elliott 18, Slonaker 6, Marett 9.
LAKEVIEW — Stringer 9, Adams 2, Scott 4, Fischer 2, Ruediger 4, Davis 5, Womer 8. 3-pt. goal: Davis 1.
JV — Lakeview, 35-18.
———
W.MIDDLESEX 7 6 4 15 32
MERCER 25 12 4 9 50
WEST MIDDLESEX — Murray 8, Atterholt 1, Stitt 9, Summers 9, White 5.
MERCER — Arkwright 33, Mills 2, McKinney 3, Ryder 4, Zacherl 2, Whenry 6.
JV — No score reported.
Sports
Related Photos
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The Lady Warriors' Tori Thompson brings the ball up the floor during Monday's game against Newton Falls at Brookfield. Also pictured is Brookfield's Ashley Kirila.
Roundup: CP girls stun Farrell; Mercer, Hounds, KC, Devils, Hickory win
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Herald-Tamie junior tourney set Thursday-Friday
THEY SAY THAT “The best things in life are free.” Well, one of those “best things” is the annual Herald-Tam O’Shanter Junior Golf Championships every summer.
The event, which has been free to boys and girls in the Shenango Valley since it’s inception in 1949, will be held Thursday and Friday at Tam O’Shanter Golf Course in Hermitage.
It has been the premier youth tournament for decades and some of the top players ever to come out of this area have participated. But you don’t have to be a great young golfer to take part. It’s a wonderful opportunity for every youngster to get a free round of golf on a great course, which is in immaculate shape this season. -
Hickory lists 2013 scholar-athlete award winners
Hickory High Athletic Director Barb Dzuricsko recently announced that a total of 213 students (grades 9-12) earned Don McKay Scholar-Athlete awards.
To be eligible, students must maintain an A (93 percent or higher) grade-point-average through the academic year’s third 9-week grading period and compete in a PIAA-sponsored sport.
A total of 375 students competed in athletics this past year, Dzuricsko noted, meaning almost 57 percent qualified for the McKay Scholar-Athlete Award. Since the award’s inception, this is the highest total number of students to earn the honors, she reported. -
SCHOLASTIC NOTEBOOK: Hearns to continue golf career in college; Petty to be honored
RECENT HICKORY High alumna Rosy Hearns will continue her education and golf careers at the State University of New York-Albany. Hickory links coach Craig Antush said Hearns recently signed a letter-of-intent.
Hearns’ Hickory career concluded as one of the finest on the links — male or female — in Mercer County annals. -
Bowlers compete in Senior Games
The bowling portion of the annual Mercer County Senior Games was held Wednesday at Grove City Bowlodrome. That followed horseshoes and shuffleboard competitions earlier in the week.
Following is the rest of the schedule: -
COLLEGIATE NOTEBOOK: Ex-Hickory great Richards has great spring track season
FORMER HICKORY HIGH standout Morgan Richards enjoyed a successful spring season for the University of North Carolina-Charlotte track & field team. The female 49ters won the Atlantic 10 Conference outdoor track & field team title.
“Morgan kept her stride as she transitioned into the outdoor season, running top times in several events among (Atlantic 10) freshmen and on Charlotte’s all-time top 10 lists,” assistant coch Edwin T. Schlichter wrote in a recent e-mail to The Herald. “Morgan finished just one spot (9th) out of scoring at the 2013 A-10 Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase, despite this being her first year ever attempting the event, and running 11:02.22 which was 2nd among all freshmen in the A-10 and 5th all-time for UNC-Charlotte.” -
SPORTVIEW: Hickory tri-athletes deserve special recognition
EVERY YEAR we receive a photo from the Hermitage School District of a group of student-athletes that I am thrilled to receive and run in the paper.
The photo is of Hickory High School “tri-athletes,” boys and girls who participate in sports during each of the fall, winter and spring seasons. But there is more to it than that. Each of these athletes also must maintain an 85 percent B average during the first three 9-week grading periods of the year. -
TIDBITS: Scurpas make college choices; Matthews, Norris, Bonner part of great Clarion recruiting class; Lewis earns national medal
SHARPSVILLE HIGH volleyball standouts Kristen and Paige Scurpa, who are cousins, will continue their education and athletic careers at California University of Pa. and Penn State-Behrend, respectively.
The duo, both of whom were named to the All-State team in Class A by the Pa. Volleyball Coaches Association, led the Blue Darlings to the District 10 title game in November. Sharpsville, Region 1 champs the past 4 years, suffered a 3-1 loss to Cochranton in that match and finished the season 16-4. -
Sharpsville falls in D-10 title game
SLIPPERY ROCK — Monday was a pretty good day for Saegertown High School.
Just mere hours after the Lady Panthers won the District 10 Class A softball championship, the Saegertown baseball team (19-2) captured its third straight D-10 Class AA title with a convincing 10-3 victory over Sharpsville (15-6) at Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park.
“We knew going into the game that Saegertown’s a pretty good team and they’ve been a pretty good team for the past few years,” Blue Devils coach Mike Sikorski said. “I think they’ve been in the District 10 Championship the past four years. They’re a solid team, a very good team. They’re very patient at the plate and when they get their pitches, they hit them.” -
STATE TRACK NOTEBOOK: WM seniors leave legacy of greatness
WEST MIDDLESEX High always has had a proud athletic heritage, and this past weekend’s PIAA Class AA Track & Field championship will only add lustre to that legacy.
According to available archives at The Herald, only the 1954 boys’ basketball team and Coach Bob Morris’ boys’ cross country team from earlier this decade previously had won commonwealth crowns. -
Allen wins 4 gold medals to lead WM to PIAA team title
SHIPPENSBURG — Clay Allen said he had to explode out of the starting blocks for his 100-meter dash showdown with Hickory’s DeShawn Coleman. But Allen — all afternoon — was getting the jump on his competitors during the annual PIAA Track & Field Championships.
By approximately 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Shippensburg University, Allen annexed 4 gold medals — 100- and 200-meter dashes, long jump, and as part of the sprint-relay. The workload West Middlesex High’s senior exhibited enabled the Big Reds to record the Class AA commonwealth crown. - More Sports Headlines
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Herald-Tamie junior tourney set Thursday-Friday
