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Lady Colts fall to Indian Creek in D-II Sectional final

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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- They say an elephant never forgets.

Apparently, that applies to a determined bunch of Lady Redskins, too.

Indian Creek -- which was upset by Meadowbrook in last year's Division III Sectional Tournament finals to bring an abrupt end to what had been a memorable unbeaten regular season -- got a measure of revenge on a snowy night, scoring a 58-46 victory at Ohio Univesity-Eastern to end the Lady Colts' hopes of back-to-back district appearances.

The Creek (18-4), which lost 54-41 to Meadowbrook in last year's sectional final, simply had too much quickness at both ends of the floor this time. The Lady Redskins' tenacity on defense and quick passing on offense led to the ouster of the Lady Colts (15-7).

"Last year, when we knocked them off in the finals we got all the credit," stated Meadowbrook coach Tom Strasser, "and it's only fair that we give them the credit this time. I thought they played exceptionally well.

"We just couldn't get into a rhythm and we seemed a step slow tonight," the MHS coach continued. "It just wasn't our night."

Indian Creek coach Erin DeSantis felt her team had something to prove against the Lady Colts.

"We felt we didn't give everything we had last year," she related, "and we didn't want to leave any doubts this time.

"We felt they would panic a little bit with our pressure based on what we saw in their game against St. Clairsville," DeSantis said, "and we did a nice job forcing them into turnovers and bad shots."

Indian Creek jumped out quickly, taking a 14-4 lead before Meadowbrook got a bucket from senior Alyssa Wright and two free throws from sophomore Tori Wolverton to cut the gap to 14-8 at the first quarter break.

Despite continued struggles by the Lady Colts, Indian Creek only managed to increase its lead by two to six, 23-17, at the half.

A rebound hoop by junior Kat Jirles got Meadowbrook with in four to start the third period, but The Creek forced the Lady Colts into seven turnovers in the quarter and outscored them 18-7 the rest of the way to build the advantage to 41-26 heading to the final frame.

The lead ballooned to 19 early in the fourth and the closest the Lady Colts could get was 12.

Indian Creek had three girls finished the night with 14 points -- seniors Gabbi Davis and Meghan Billick and junior Bri Kamarec. Senior Ty Harris finished with seven points, six assists, three steals and three rebounds; Billick also had six rebounds and three steals and senior Mikki Davis had five assists.

The Lady Redskins were 26-of-46 from the field (56 percent) with 23 rebounds and 13 turnovers.

Jirles led the way for Meadowbrook with 10 points and eight rebounds. Wright closed with nine tallies; Wolverton and senior Bre Jones each had eight markers; and junior Shelby Stover added five points and four caroms.

MHS was 18-of-45 from the floor (40 percent) with 24 boards and 17 miscues.

Despite the loss, Strasser praised his team for its effort and offered special kudos for the senior trio of Jones, Wright and Candace Neff.

"Some of our girls were laboring out there tonight with injuries," he said, "but they gave it all they had and that's all I can ask.

"I'm so proud of our seniors," Strasser offered. "They played varsity as freshman and only got two wins. Then it went to five wins...then 11 wins and the district runner-up...and then 15 wins this year. We appreciate all of the work they put in for us."

* * * * *

ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Call it a "big" win for the Lady Colts.

Meadowbrook High's inside tandem of juniors Shelby Stover and Katherine Jirles came up big, combining for 32 points and 22 rebounds to key a 57-49 victory over St. Clairsville in the Division II Sectional Tournament at Ohio University Eastern.

Both girls turned in a double-double, with Stover collecting 18 points and 12 rebounds while Jirles battled through an aching back to put up 14 points and 10 boards as the Lady Colts (15-6) overcame 26 turnovers to sideline the Lady Red Devils (16-6).

"This was the ultimate 'survive and advance,'" said relieved Meadowbrook coach Tom Strasser. "St. Clairsville plays so hard...they're so athletic. They didn't allow us to breathe at all."

Meadowbrook managed a 13-12 lead after the first quarter which started out sloppy with a combined 15 turnovers. St. C. senior Jaclyn Dutton -- the soccer phenom headed for Clemson University -- led all scorers with six points.

In round two, the Lady Colts settled down and had just one miscue while getting balanced scoring led by five from Stover and four from Jirles during an 18-6 surge which netted a 31-18 halftime lead. The Devils had a dismal 3-of-14 shooting quarter.

Turnover woes returns for Meadowbrook in round three as a whopping 11 giveaways allowed St. C. to post a 20-8 edge to cut the lead all the way to one, 39-38. Junior Ashley Gordon tallied eight in the round for the Lady Devils while Stover had all eight of the Lady Colts' points.

St. C. got a steal and layup from senior Brooke Cenkus to open the fourth for a 40-39 upperhand, but a 5-0 run by the Lady Colts, including four by Jirles, put MHS in front, 44-40, with 6:49 remaining.

Back-to-back hoops by sophomore Jesse Machovina got St. C. even at 44-all with 5:35 left, but inside scores from Jirles and Stover put the Colts in front to stay, 48-44, and 10-of-15 free throw shooting secured the victory.

"We knew they would come at us hard in the first four minutes of the third quarter," Strasser commented, "but when we lost the big lead, our guards made plays and Kat and Shelby did a nice job on the inside to give us a chance to play again."

St. Clairsville coach Bruce Stiles was complimentary of the Lady Colts' performance.

"We were definitely concerned with their big girls," related Stiles, "and they hurt us, especially when Slenski went down with the injury."

Stiled referred to St. C. junior post Sarah Slenski, who left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury and did not return.

"Meadowbrook is a tremendous team," Stiles added. "They play in a real good conference and to only have five losses tells you they're for real."

In addition to Stover and Jirles, the Lady Colts got 10 points and five rebounds from senior Bre Jones; and seven points, five rebounds and three assists from senior Candace Neff.

MHS hit 20-of-47 field goal attempts (42.5 percent) and 16-of-22 at the charity stripe (72.7 percent) compared to St. Clairsville's 22-of-55 from the floor (40 percent) and 5-of-9 at the line (55.5 percent). Meadowbrook had a 41-25 rebounding edge to offset the 26 turnovers, which were seven more than St. C.'s total of 19.

Gordon tallied 12 to lead the Lady Devils. Dutton finished with 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals; Slenski had six points and four caroms; and senior Kelly Perzanowski added five rebounds and four assists.