CLARION, Pa. – Kane used its considerable height advantage to get off to a quick start and was never really threatened on its way to a 38-27 win over Cranberry in the District 9 Class 2A semifinals at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
(Cover photo of Kane’s Ella Marconi)
The second-seeded Lady Wolves (20-5) go 6-1, 5-11, 5-11 up front while Cranberry’s tallest regular stands at 5-9.
And it was that height that helped Kane jump out to a 10-2 lead with 6-1 sophomore Ella Marconi netting the game’s first six points and her 5-11 teammates Trinity Clark (six points) and Rachael Morgan (two points) combining for the remaining eight first-quarter points that staked the Lady Wolves to a 14-6 advantage after a quarter.
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“We control the boards and play good defense,” Kane head coach Dave Kiehl, whose team won the rebounding battle 36-25, said. “That’s our mode of operation. We needed to get out early, and that’s what we did. The girls did a good job. It’s a good win. Cranberry is a good team, there is no doubt about that.”
Any change of a Cranberry comeback was thwarted by the Berries turning the ball over 25 times, nine more than their season average.
“They came out and played good, solid defense,” Cranberry head coach Carrie Melat said. “But there were just a lot of out of character plays that we were doing. One pass, shot, silly turnovers, things out of character for us. We did a good job this year of taking care of the ball. We average around 16 turnovers a game. (When you turn it over 25 times), it doesn’t allow you to get into a rhythm.”
Marconi led a balanced Kane attack with 13 points and 10 rebounds with Clark adding 11 points and nine boards, Morgan five points and 10 rebounds and Camryn Cumming four points, six assists and five steals.
Marconi talked about the win.
Erin Merryman and Hannah Duncan paced Cranberry with six points apiece. Bree Swartzfager had five. Malliah Shreck had eight rebounds for the Berries.
Kane, which is 0-5 all time in D9 title games, takes on Coudersport in the District 9 title game at a site, time and place to be determined. Both teams have qualified for the PIAA playoffs.
Cranberry will face Port Allegany in the consolation game with the winner advancing to the PIAA playoffs and the loser going home.
KANE 38, CRANBERRY 27
Score by Quarters
Cranberry 6 6 6 9 – 27
Kane 14 10 7 7 – 38
CRANBERRY – 27
Ellie Kahle 1 1-1 3, Malliah Schreck 1 1-6 3, Erin Merryman 2 2-6 6, Hannah Duncan 3 0-0 6, Bree Swartzfager 2 0-0 5, Andrea Altman 1 0-0 2, Nicole Huchtichinson 1 0-0 2, Emily Duncan 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 4-13 27.
KANE – 38
Hannah Buhl 2 1-2 5, Rachael Morgan 2 1-2 5, Camryn Cummings 2 0-0 4, Ella Marconi 6 1-2 13, Trinity Clark 4 3-6 11, Caitlyn O’Hara 0 0-0 0, Alexis Lopez 0 0-0 0, Emily Bucheit 0 0-0 0, Sierra HIllman 0 0-0 0, Ainsley Saf 0 0-0 0, Nicole Buhl 0 0-0 0, McKenna Ennis 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 6-12 38.
Three-pointers: Cranberry 1 (Swartzfager).
COUDERSPORT 52, PORT ALLEGANY 39
AUSTIN, Pa. – Top-seeded Coudersport shook off a slow start by outscoring fourth-seeded Port Allegany by 17 in the middle two quarters to gain a berth in the District 9 Class 2A title game with a 52-39 semifinal victory at Austin High School.
The Lady Falcons (22-1) trailed 14-11 after a quarter but outscored the Lady Gators (14-10) 27-10 over the next 16 minutes including 12-5 in the second quarter to take a 23-19 halftime lead.
It was a team-wide effort in the second and third quarters for Coudersport with eight different players combining to score the 27 points led by six points from Haley Keck.
Keck finished with a game-high 16 points while going a perfect 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Shae Black chipped in 10 points for the Lady Falcons, while EmmaRae Easton had three points, six rebounds and three assists. Ally Easton blocked four shots and scored six points with Alyssa Woods adding six points and three assists.
Autumn Buchsenschutz paced Port Allegany with 15 points, 10 of which came in the first quarter. Bri Roys added 10 tallies while hitting a pair of 3-pointers, while Hannah Lathrop had two points and seven rebounds and Leah Garzel three points and seven boards.
Coudersport, looking for its first district title since winning Class 1A in 2011, takes on Kane in the title game at a time, place and date to be determined. Both teams have qualified for the PIAA playoffs.
Port Allegany faces Cranberry in the consolation game also at a time, place and date to be determined with the winner advancing to the PIAA playoffs and the loser going home.
COUDERSPORT 52, PORT ALLEGANY 39
Score by Quarters
Port Allegany 14 5 5 15
Coudersport 11 12 15 14 – 52
PORT ALLEGANY – 39
Jenna Sprankle 1 0-0 2, Erin Stauffer 0 2-4 2, Autumn Buchsenschutz 5 2-2 15, Cailey Barnett 2 0-0 5, Leah Garzel 1 1-4 3, Bri Roys 4 0-0 10, Hannah Lathrop 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 5-10 39.
COUDERSPORT – 52
Skyler Vanwagenen 1 0-1 2, Kiara Perkins 2 1-6 5, Macy Gleason 1 2-4 4, Ally Easton 3 0-2 6, Haley Keck 5 6-6 16, Alyssa Wood 3 0-0 6, Shae Black 3 4-7 10, Adrian Page 0 0-0 0, EmmaRae Easton 1 0-0 3, Kali Learn 0 0-0 0, Tori Crosby 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 13-26 52.
Three-pointers: Port Allegany 6 (A. Buchsenschutz 3, Roys 2, Barnett). Coudersport 1 (E. Easton)
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