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Carroll girls win sectional
"The day I interviewed for the Carroll job I believed these girls could win this sectional," Mc- Croskey said. "I had only seen Carroll play once last year when I saw their game with Maconaquah. We were there to scout Maconaquah, but Carroll's team caught my eye. I told Jack (Malson, McCroskey's longtime assistant) they were an interesting team with some good players that was only a player or two away from being pretty good." McCroskey hopes Saturday's victory is just the first step in returning a once proud program that won seven sectional titles from 1986-1998 to its former lofty status. "We have come so far from where we were last summer," McCroskey said following his 15th sectional title as a girls' basketball coach. "I give all the credit to these kids. They have worked so hard. There never was a time this season when I didn't think we could get to this point. Fifteen minutes after (Saturday) morning's walk through we had to kick them out of the gym. They wanted to stay and practice longer. "Carroll girls basketball has been down for a while, but we're going to do our best to reestablish that former dominance." Vs. Fountain Central "In the locker room before the game Wayne (Esserman, varsity assistant coach) pulled a piece of the 1998 sectional net out of his pocket and passed it around for every girl to touch," McCroskey said. "From day one we've been telling them their goal should be to get their name on the [Carroll gym] wall as a sectional champion. Once you get there, you're there forever. Wayne has been telling them all year to 'Build a Memory' and they did that tonight." Morgan Yoder chose a great night to play her best game of the season. Fountain Central scored first on a put-back lay up by 6-foot post player Kelsey Everett, then M. Yoder went to work, scoring six points in the first 2:39 of the game. Abby Reinke added a pair of free throws to put Carroll on top early, 8-2. Three-pointers by Quinci Eller and Krystal Brazel, and two more free tosses by Jess Yoder and the Lady Cougars looked poised to win their first sectional title in 10 years in a blowout, leading 16-5 with 2:59 to go in the first quarter. But the Lady Mustangs battled back with a pair of longrange jumpers of their own to keep Carroll's advantage under double figures, 19-11 at the end of the first quarter. That first quarter summed up the rest of the game. Carroll had a moment each quarter when they appeared ready to run away with the game, but each time a missed shot, or a turnover would allow Fountain Central to keep the game within reach. Carroll only trailed once, at 2-0, but the large crowd cheering on the Lady Cougars could never quite get comfortable. Eller hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter, leading Carroll to a 30-25 halftime lead, then she and M. Yoder continued to kill the Lady Mustangs in the third. "We decided if they played man-to-man defense we wanted whoever Everett was guarding to take the ball to the basket," McCroskey explained. "Morgan did a great job doing just that. And Quinci is a money player. She's played like a veteran all year." Eller hit a short jumper in the lane to start a big third quarter for Carroll, then M. Yoder scored the Lady Cougars' next eight points. Eller followed her nine-point second quarter with 10 more in the third. Carroll went to the fourth quarter with a 54-43 lead. An 8-3 run for Fountain Central to start the fourth quarter closed the gap to 57-51 with 3:03 to go. Outstanding ball handling by the Lady Cougars forced Fountain Central to foul to get the ball back. The Lady Cougars did not hit a field goal in the fourth quarter, but made 10 of 18 free-throw attempts in the quarter to hold off Fountain Central's final charge. The Lady Mustangs cut the lead to 60-56 with 1:30 left, but Carroll's aggressive defense and secure ball handling down the stretch preserved the victory. Following a miserable 14-of- 52 (27%) shooting night in Friday's sectional victory over Delphi, the Lady Cougars' shooters were red hot in Saturday's title game. Carroll found the net on 18 of 31 field-goal attempts (58%), including torrid 7-of-9 (78%) shooting from 3- point range. Eller hit 8 of 13 field-goal attempts, including 5 of 7 from 3- point range for a career-high 24 points. She also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and had 3 assists and 3 steals. M. Yoder hit 6 of 9 field-goal attempts en route to a 14-point performance. Brazel and Reinke each scored nine points for Carroll. Seniors Brazel, Jaime Mc- Carter, Brooke Yoder and M. Yoder hope to extend their high school basketball careers a bit longer when the Lady Cougars (13-9) take on Class 2A No. 2 Oak Hill (23-0) in the 10 a.m. first game of the Lewis Cass Regional Saturday morning. Vs. Delphi Carroll (12-9) advanced to the championship game with a 45- 30 victory over county rival Delphi (5-16) Friday night. When 3-pointers by Brazel and Eller and a free throw by B. Yoder put the Lady Cougars on top 7-0 with 4:55 left in the first quarter the game started looking like a repeat of Carroll's 46-22 defeat of the Lady Oracles on Nov. 21. But Delphi fought back. Whitney Arion hit a pair of 3- pointers and Carli Rouhier added a basket in the lane to give the Lady Oracles an 8-7 first-quarter lead. Carroll's swarming, full-court pressure forced seven Delphi turnovers in the first quarter, but the Lady Cougars couldn't convert. Carroll hit just 2 of 17 field-goal attempts in the first 8:00. "We knew we couldn't match Carroll's quickness," Delphi coach Dan Dawson explained. "Our plan was to play zone and get out on their shooters. Carroll has a good press, but we also had 6 or 8 unforced turnovers that really hurt us. Each of those cost us a possession we might have scored on." The Lady Cougars' shooting woes continued and they found themselves trailing 12-9 with 5:31 left in the second quarter. Carroll was an ice-cold 2 of 20 from the field when coach Mc- Croskey called timeout with 5:09 to go in the half. "The first quarter of a sectional is always a struggle," Mc- Croskey said. "I felt at some point our pressure would give us a run and we got it in the second quarter. I thought we took better shots in the second half and rebounded better." Carroll missed one more shot, then a big 3-pointer from the left wing by Brazel tied the game and got the Lady Cougars going. M. Yoder followed Brazel's bomb with a lay up from an assist by Reinke, then McCarter added a 3-pointer and a lay up with an assist from Eller. A pair of free throws by Reinke finished off a 12-0 Carroll run to put the Lady Cougars in control 21-12. "I thought we shot a little too quickly in the first quarter," Mc- Croskey said. "We got better shots in the second quarter. That was a big inside-out three that Jaime (McCarter) hit." The third quarter was all Carroll. The Lady Cougars outscored Delphi 15-4 to take a commanding 38-19 lead into the fourth quarter. Reinke scored seven of her nine points in the decisive third quarter. Carroll's pressure defense forced nine Delphi turnovers in the period and 27 for the game. Eller led a balanced Carroll attack with 10 points and a team-high six rebounds. Brazel and McCarter scored nine and seven, respectively. M. Yoder pitched in four points and four rebounds. Arion and Erika Hawn paced Delphi with seven apiece. Senior Kylee German ended her high school basketball career in style, scoring six points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds. "Kylee did a great job for us, getting six points and ten rebounds," Dawson said. "I am so proud of her effort. This sectional was a great effort by our whole team. We are very happy to have made the second round." |
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