Sticky 'D' Carroll's Morgan Yoder and Brooke Yoder apply pressure on Delphi's Whitney Arion during county basketball rivalry action last week. Delphi never found an answer to Carroll's suffocating press. Bill Stauffer photo Most people going to the girls' basketball game last Wednesday at DCHS had to think that the Lady Oracles (2-2) had a good chance of posting a win against winless Carroll (0-3). Luckily for Cougar fans, some of those people were not the players. After a close opening quarter, the Carroll girls dominated the game and won going away, 46-22.

Brooke Yoder hit a trey and Delphi fell behind early 8-2 against a team that was a step ahead of Delphi the entire evening. Carroll did slow down long enough to let Oracle Emily Kayser hit her own three and make the score 10-9 in favor of Carroll late in the first.

Hannah Strasser scored a bucket to open the second period. That would be the last time the Oracles would score until the second half. The quicker Cougars repeatedly harassed Oracle ball handlers, forcing five consecutive turnovers. The turnovers and the missed shots meant that Carroll would lead at the half, 26-11. Quincy Eller had scored seven points for Carroll.

Delphi finally broke the drought with a free throw less than a minute into the third period. Carroll had held the Oracles scoreless for over eight minutes. The Oracles seemed slow-footed at times and were committing error-after-error against Carroll. Delphi could manage to get only five points in the third period. The score after three was Carroll 36, Delphi 17.

The last quarter was a carbon copy of the second and third. The Cougars forced the Oracles into numerous errors and when the Oracles could get a shot off, it was with a Carroll player's hand in their face. Carroll doubled up Delphi's score in the final period, 10-5.

The 46-22 final score was a good indicator of how the teams played. The Cougars were ready to play and did it at both ends of the court while the Oracles, it seemed, were mentally out of the game.

"We had a superb practice Tuesday," commented Carroll Coach Mike McCroskey. "It was not a physical practice, but we walked through what we wanted and what we expected Delphi to do. You saw the effects of that good practice tonight."

"I haven't been with these girls very long, but I felt they were ready for this game. They were excited to play Delphi, but were not too high."

"I thought we rebounded well, and our full-court pressure defense was without a doubt the difference in the game."

Carroll improved to 1-3 while the Oracles fell to 2-3.

The JV score was Delphi 39, Carroll 30.

Vs. Rensselaer

I don't know what, if anything, Coach Dan Dawson said to the Oracles after their drubbing by Carroll. Whatever it was, he should bottle it. The Ladies played a much more inspired game and came within a missed lay-up of beating a 3-1 Rensselaer Bomber team on Saturday. The Oracles lost in overtime 44-43.

Strasser hit a basket and free throw for an early 3-0 Delphi lead. The taller Bombers countered with a 9-2 run before Delphi ended the first quarter with a 10-9 lead. Whitney Arion and Strasser each had five points. The Oracles played well in the second, scoring seven unanswered points, while holding the Bombers without a point for nearly four minutes. The Oracles, though, could not keep it up. Holding a 17-14 lead with two minutes to go, the Bombers finally warmed up and cut through the Oracle defense for seven points, taking a 21-20 halftime lead. Arion (8) and Strasser (7) had 75% of the Oracle points.

The third quarter was all Delphi. While they didn't score a lot of points (9), they did manage to keep the Bombers from scoring. Erika Hawn hit the only bucket, a three pointer. What was a 29- 21 lead could have been a double digit lead. The Oracles had a dozen free throw attempts, but only connected on six of them.

Leading 30-21, the Oracles failed to sustain the defense that had earned them the lead. The Bombers scored three baskets around a free throw by Strasser. The lead was down to four at 31- 27 with five minutes left. Two minutes later the lead was down to two at 33-31.

With a minute left and Delphi holding a 37-31 lead, it looked as though the Oracles would end their three-game losing string. But Rensselaer scored two quick buckets before the Oracle's Kayla Yates countered with a pair of free throws. Trailing 39-35, the Bombers drained a three with 21.8 seconds left. After forcing a Delphi turnover, the Bombers had a chance with 9.9 seconds showing to take the lead with a pair of free throws. Brianna Sammons hit the first to tie the game. Her second shot bounced off the rim and the Oracles got the rebound. They passed the ball up the court and actually had an open lay-up that came up short as time expired.

In overtime, the Oracles held the lead twice, but couldn't protect it. Trailing 44-43 the Oracles' last ditch shot caromed off the rim as the clock buzzed.

The Oracles varsity record falls to 2-4 for the year.

The JV score was Rensselaer 30, Delphi 27.