An old Tri-County Athletic Conference (TCAC) rivalry hit the hardwood Wednesday at Eisenhower High School.
For the first time in eight years, the Eisenhower Lady Knights and Tidioute Community Charter School Lady Bulldogs squared off in a varsity girls basketball game.
The result was not a good one for the visitors as Ike rolled to a 56-17 victory in a rare 3 p.m. start at EHS.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Allen Seybert
Waiting game
Eisenhower’s Lyssa Knapp, left, and Tidioute Charter’s Hayley Moore wait for a rebound to roll off the rim during Wednesday’s varsity girls basketball game at Eisenhower High School. The Knights bested the Bulldogs, 56-17.
Wednesday's game tipped off early due to the Knights' hosting a wrestling match with North East later in the evening. Still, it didn't take long for Eisenhower to hit its stride.
Led by the hot shooting of guard Lauren Blanco, Eisenhower built a seven-point lead after the first quarter. Things got even better for the hosts in the second and by halftime, Ike held a 31-8 lead.
To make matters worse, TCCS appeared to lose starting point guard Alexis Morrison to an ankle injury late in the first half.
Morrison would return and help the scrappy Bulldogs battle to the bitter end. By the time the final buzzer sound, Eisenhower held a 25-9 second half edge and rolled to the 39-point victory.
Blanco led all scorers in the game with 21 points -outscoring all of Tidioute by four points. Freshman Brooke Stanton set a new career-best with 11 points as did Alyssa Peterson with seven points. Halie VanOrd had seven assists and four rebounds on the afternoon and Blanco also pulled down four boards.
The Lady Bulldogs were led by the six points of Cassie York. Morrison and Loralee Lindemuth each added four points in defeat.
Eisenhower won a tight junior varsity game, 26-20. Courtney Flynn's eight points led the Knights while Nicole Condron and Morrison each scored four points for TCCS.
Eisenhower (5-6) hosts Girard on Friday while TCCS (1-12) travels to Erie First Christian on that same day.
TCCS (17): Alexis Morrison 2 0-0 4, Cassie York 2 2-3 6, Lacey Kitelinger 0 0-0 0, Loralee Lindemuth 2 0-0 4, Robbie Kitelinger 0 0-0 0, Hayley Moore 1 0-1 2, Lacy Wolford 0 1-2 1, Sam Johnson 0 0-0 0, Nicole Condron 0 0-0 0, Totals: 7 3-6 17
EISENHOWER (56): Courtney Flynn 0 0-0 0, Brooke Stanton 5 0-0 11, Lauren Blanco 9 0-2 21, Alli Blanco 1 0-2 2, Taylor Ward 2 0-2 4, Halie VanOrd 0 0-0 0, Lauren Sherry 1 3-6 5, Alyssa Peterson 3 1-2 7, Lyssa Knapp 2 0-0 4, Kearsten Maine 0 0-0 0, Danielle Bradish 0 0-0 0, Bailey Burch 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Parmenter 1 0-0 2, Totals: 24 4-14 56
TCCS 4 4 1 8 - 17
Eisenhower 11 20 12 13 - 56
3-pointers: T-None; E-L. Blanco 3, Stanton
Junior varsity game
TCCS (20): Robbie Kitelinger 1 1-2 3, Loralee Lindemuth 0 2-2 2, Lacey Kitelinger 0 1-2 1, Nicole Condron 2 0-0 4, Lacy Wolford 1 1-2 3, Alexis Morrison 2 0-0 4, Sam Johnson 0 0-0 0, Hayley Moore 1 1-6 3, Totals: 7 6-14 20
EISENHOWER (26): Courtney Flynn 3 2-2 8, Kearsten Maine 3 0-0 6, Sara Smith 0 0-0 0, Emmaleigh Hishman 1 0-0 2, Bailey Burch 0 0-2 0, Chelsea Parmenter 0 0-0 0, Danielle Bradish 1 0-0 2, Ashley Barnett 1 0-0 2, Brooke Stanton 2 2-2 6, Totals: 11 4-6 26
TCCS 6 5 7 2 - 20
Eisenhower 4 4 8 10 - 26
3-pointers: None