The Warren Lady Dragons defense dominated Eisenhower, holding the Lady Knights to only one field goal in both the first and third quarters as they reclaimed the Warren County Tip-off Tournament title with a 50-16 victory Saturday at Warren Area High School.
"Defensively (the girls) did really, really well," said Warren coach Lisa Ruhlman. "They came ready to play tonight."
Both teams started off slowly in the first quarter as it took nearly three minutes before a point was scored. After scoring got started, Warren finished strong and took an 11-3 lead into the second. The teams found their offensive rhythm in the second quarter with the Lady Dragons outscoring the Lady Knights by five to take a 23-10 lead into halftime.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg
Looking ahead
Warren’s Emily Sherman, left, looks for room to move as she’s guarded by Eisenhower’s Haylie VanOrd during the girls championship game of the Warren County Tip-off Tournament Saturday at Warren Area High School.
Warren's defense clamped down in the third as it held Eisenhower scoreless for the first 6:40 of the quarter before Lauren Blanco finally scored the lone basket for the Lady Knights in the period.
"We tried some things outside of what we normally do (defensively)," Ruhlman said.
The change in strategies worked well in the second half as the Lady Dragons held the Lady Knights to just six points in the half and Warren's offense took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 points, to give the Lady Dragons the tip-off championship for the third time in six years. The other three titles were won by Ike.
Fact Box
EISENHOWER (16): Lauren Blanco 3 3-4 9, Taylor Ward 2 0-0 4, Kearsten Maine 1 0-0 2, Alli Blanco 0 1-2 1, Lyssa Knapp 0 0-0 0, Courtney Flynn 0 0-0 0, Halie Van Ord 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Peterson 0 0-0 0, Bailey Burch 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Parmenter 0 0-0 0, Brooke Stanton 0 0-0 0, Lauren Sherry 0 0-0 0, Kari Santo 0 0-0 0, Totals: 6 4-6 16
WARREN (50): Kristin Hultquist 5 5-8 15, Sabrina Anderson 4 4-6 12, Emily Sherman 3 2-4 8, Jaimie Eaton 3 0-2 7, Taylor Mineweaser 1 1-2 3, Kristie Reynolds 1 0-0 3, Kaitlin Ishman 1 0-1 2, Samantha Bevevino 0 0-0 0, Paige Rimer 0 0-0 0, Nerissa McIntyre 0 0-0 0, Brittni Merenick 0 0-0 0, McKenzie Merenick 0 0-0 0, Allie Morrison 0 0-0 0, Justine Fox 0 0-0 0, Alexa Bupp 0 0-0 0, Lauren Frazier 0 0-0 0, Totals: 18 12-23 50
Eisenhower 3 7 2 4 - 16
Warren 11 12 11 16 - 50
3-pointers: E-None; W-Eaton, Reynolds
SHEFFIELD (24): Hannah Vile 0 0-0 0, Kristie Steffan 3 2-3 8, Ashley Davidson 1 1-2 3, Abby Labesky 1 1-6 3, Juli Ely 5 0-0 10, Brittany Summers 0 0-0 0, Hanna Fitch 0 0-0 0, Sami Pollock 0 0-0 0, Edwards 0 0-0 0, Carlie Pierce 0 0-0 0, Totals: 10 4-11 24
YOUNGSVILLE (38): Lindsey Lyon 5 9-10 19, Amber Fox 3 0-1 7, Katie Chuzie 2 5-8 10, Katelyn Maille 0 0-3 0, Jessica Jameson 1 0-0 2, Katie Gustafson 0 0-2 0, Vicki Hagg 0 0-0 0, Totals: 11 14-24 38
Sheffield 6 0 10 8 - 24
Youngsville 10 12 6 10 - 38
3-pointers: S-None; Y-Chuzie, Fox
ROCKY GROVE (47): Dziekziez 2 1-2 5, Lepley 5 0-0 10, Herilich 2 0-0 4, Norris 0 2-2 2, Nelson 1 0-0 2, Bezier 3 0-0 6, Bell 3 0-2 8, Beach 3 0-3 6, Rembold 2 0-0 4, Totals: 21 3-9 47
TCCS (24): Cassie York 2 4-4 8, Jen Buckley 0 0-0 0, Robbie Kitelinger 0 0-0 0, Loralee Lindemuth 0 0-0 0, Lacey Kitelinger 0 0-0 0, Lacy Wolford 2 0-0 4, Alexis Morrison 4 1-2 10, Sam Johnson 1 0-0 2, Hayley Moore 0 0-0 0, Totals: 9 5-6 24
Rocky Grove 7 15 12 13 - 47
TCCS 2 8 7 7 - 24
3-pointers: R- Bell 2; T-Morrison
Friday
TCCS (22): Cassie York 2 6-9 10, Jen Buckley 0 0-0 0, Robbie Kitelinger 0 0-0 0, Loralee Lindemuth 0 0-0 0, Lacey Kitelinger 0 0-0 0, Lacy Wolford 0 0-1 0, Alexis Morrison 2 4-12 8, Sam Johnson 0 0-0 0, Hayley Moore 0 0-0 0, Nicole Condron 2 0-2 4, Totals: 6 10-24 22
VCC (41): Stalk 3 0-0 6, Kohn 4 0-0 8, Maleski 3 0-0 7, Homan 2 1-4 5, Janidlo 2 1-2 5, Scurry 3 4-4 10, Totals: 17 6-10 41
TCCS 3 9 5 5 - 22
VCC 12 8 13 8 - 41
3-pointers: T-None; V-Maleski
Kristin Hultquist had a double-double with 15 points to lead Warren. Sabrina Anderson added 12 points and Emily Sherman chipped in with eight points.
Lauren Blanco accounted for more than half of Eisenhower's point total with nine markers. Taylor Ward added four points, Kearsten Maine had two points and Alli Blanco had one point to round out the scoring for the Lady Knights.
Ruhlman was pleased with her team's overall performance, but knows that there is still room for improvement.
"I think we need to work our team stuff," Ruhlman said. "Individually we're very, very strong, but as a team we just need to gel more."
The Lady Dragons will have almost a full week to work before traveling to Titusville on Friday. The Lady Knights next contest will be at home against Saegertown on Thursday.
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Consolation Game
Youngsville 38, Sheffield 24
The streak is over.
The Youngsville Lady Eagles earned their second victory in the history of the Warren County Tip-off Tournament with a 38-24 win over Sheffield in the girls consolation game Saturday at Warren Area High School.
However, the significance of the win goes much further than that.
The win gave Youngsville head coach Allison Kitchel her first career varsity coaching victory and snapped a 31-game losing streak for the Lady Eagles' program.
"It's good to get a win," said Youngsville coach Allison Kitchel. "The girls worked very hard for this and they deserve to have something good happen."
Lindsey Lyon had a huge game for the Eagles, scoring 19 points. Freshman Katie Chuzie hit double figures for the second straight game with 10 points and Amber Fox chipped in seven markers.
Juli Ely's 10 points was tops for Sheffield while Kristie Steffan scored eight points.
Youngsville (1-1) is back in action Thursday when it hosts Linesville. Sheffield (0-2) hosts Kane on Wednesday.
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Venango Catholic Tournament
Consolation Game
Rocky Grove 47, TCCS 24
OIL CITY - Tidioute Community Charter School started the season 0-2 after a 47-24 loss to Rocky Grove in the consolation game of the Venango Catholic Tip-off Tournament Saturday at Venango Catholic High School.
Despite the setback, TCCS coach Craig Parrett saw some positives in the team's game against the Orioles.
Alexis Morrison scored a game-high 10 points in the loss and Cassie York finished the contest with eight points. Parrett was especially proud of the eight rebounds that York added to her performance.
According to Parrett, another standout on Saturday was Loralee Lindemuth. Despite not scoring any points, Lindemuth blocked 10 shots and pulled down nine rebounds for Tidioute.
On Friday, the Lady Bulldogs opened the tournament with a 41-22 loss to host Venango Catholic. York led the Bulldogs with 10 points in that outing.
TCCS (0-2) is back in action Tuesday when it hosts West Forest.