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GRITTY GREMLINS: Karns City Grinds Out 28-21 Win Over Kane to Claim District 9 Class 3A Championship

CLARION, Pa. (EYT/D9) — It certainly wasn’t pretty and points were at a serious premium, but the Karns City girls basketball team found a way.

Thanks to a smothering defense.

(Pictured above, Karns City celebrates its District 9 Class 3A championship)

The Gremlins made up for an off-night on the offensive end by limiting Kane to just six field goals in a 28-21 victory at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gymnasium on Tuesday night to win the District 9 Class 3A championship.

“Our defense set the tone for the game as we pressured Kane throughout the game,” said Karns City coach Steve Andreassi. “Although we didn’t always finish on the offensive end, we finished the game by running the clock to preserve the victory.”

Neither team cracked double-digit scoring in any quarter.

Karns City led 9-5 after the first eight minutes and led 17-13 at the half.

The second half was even more defensive-dominated with the Gremlins outscoring the Wolves, 11-8.

Karns City (15-8) had chances; they just didn’t always pay off.

“Oh my gosh, our biggest problem tonight was not being able to finish,” said senior forward Emma Dailey. “We had opportunities, but I felt like we made the harder shots more than the easier shots. That’s just the way it went.”

The Gremlins made enough of them, though, and were also able to grind clock in the fourth quarter with Brooklyn Taylor hitting a trio of key free throws to keep Kane at arm’s length.

Chloe Fritch led the Gremlins with eight points. Taylor added seven.

Few were happier to hoist the D9 championship trophy that Dailey.

She is familiar with the act. She has lifted many of them over her head as a member of the Karns City girls soccer team, which has cornered the market, it seems, on winning titles.

This was her first basketball one. Dailey will cherish it.

“I told them at the beginning of the game, ‘Teams that work together win together,'” Dailey said. “That showed on the court tonight.

“To be honest, I was nervous going into this game,” added Dailey, who was in foul trouble and scored four points. “I’ve been in D9 for soccer and I’ve never gotten nervous before that. But this is a sport that I’m kind of off and on and I just really wanted to be on for the team tonight. Even though I wasn’t the main scorer, my team picked me up and that’s the reason why we’re D9 champions.”

Mia Anderson paced Kane with 11.

Karns City will now play District 5’s Chestnut Ridge (21-3) in the Class 2A subregional championship game at noon on Saturday at Tippin Gym with a chance at securing a spot in the PIAA playoffs.