The Herald, Sharon,
PA Published Friday, Feb. 21, 1997

WINTER SPORTS Girls basketball

District 10 opens play Saturday

By Brad Isles
Herald Sports Writer

For those who love girls basketball, Saturday is your day, as the girls' District 10 playoffs tip off.

Six games involving county teams will be played, with four being held at Farrell High School.

Opening the day at 1 p.m at Farrell are Kennedy Christian (19-5), No. 1 in the Mercer County Athletic Conference Class A division, and Conneaut Lake (12-12), third in the French Creek Valley Conference-A. At 2:30, Oil City (23-2), first in the Tri-County Athletic Conference-AAA, plays Hickory (11-12), second behind Slippery Rock in MCAC-AAA.

In the third game, Cranberry (17-6), first in TCAC-II, takes on Greenville (13-10), the No. 2 seed in MCAC-AA. Finally, at 6:15, Grove City (20-4), first in MCAC-AA, plays Lakeview (20-4), the FCVC-AA's No. 2 team.

Playing at Cambridge Springs High School are Youngsville (22-2), the TCAC-A's top team and Commodore Perry (1-22), the MCAC-A's No. 2 team. They will be followed by Slippery Rock (19-4), the MCAC-AAA champ, which takes on North East (16-4), third in the Erie County League. Tip-off is at 2:45.


CLASS AAA

Slippery Rock vs. North East

Slippery Rock has a triple threat, both literally and figuratively.

Jamie Dick (5-3 Jr. guard) averages 14.4 points per game and finished the regular season with 57 3-pointers. She had at least one in every game. Another deep threat is Erica Youngman (5-7 Jr. guard, 13.5 ppg), who finished with 41 threes. Also scoring in double figures for the Lady Rockets is Marisa Taylor (5-8 Sr. forward) who had 13 per game.

North East faces the Lady Rockets after having dropped a tiebreaker to Harborcreek Tuesday, 48-41.

Leading North East is Shawna Boyd, a 6-0 senior center who averages 17.8 points per game. She had 40 points in the regular season finale to capture the ECL scoring title. Kelli McGill, a 5-6 senior guard, is another Lady Grapepicker who averages in double figures, scoring 10.4 per game.

Oil City vs. Hickory

Hickory, in the playoffs for the first time in six years, takes on the state's third-ranked AAA team, Oil City.

Hickory enters the playoffs on a high after defeating Sharon in a tiebreaker last Saturday, 41-35. Jill Miller (5-7 So. forward) leads the Hornettes with 7.7 points per game. Christy Gustas (5-6 Fr. forward) chips in 7.8 per game.

The Lady Oilers are led by a pair of career 1,000 point scorers, Tracy Whitling and Jackie Craft. Whitling, a 6-4 senior center, is the school's all-time leading scorer and averaged 16.2 points per game this season. Craft, a 6-1 senior forward, chipped in just over 15 per game.

The Hornettes dropped a 64-33 decision to Oil City earlier in the season.


CLASS AA

Grove City vs. Lakeview

At least on paper, this looks to be the most evenly-matched game of the day. The two played in the second game of the season for each, in Grove City's Kiser Classic. The Lady Eagles won the game, 41-32.

Mandy Clelland (5-10 Jr. forward) leads the Lady Eagles with 16.1 points per game and had 33 3-pointers. Behind her are Amy Kildoo (5-6 Sr. guard) who scores 9.8 per game and finished the regular season with 43 3-pointers, Brooke Engles (5-7 Sr. guard) with 5.1 per game, Julie Laird (5-9 So. forward, 7.1) and Erin Kennedy (5-8 Jr. forward, 5.3).

Leading the Lady Sailors are Casey Spence, a 6-0 junior, who scored 11.8 points per game, Brooke Barthen (5-11 Jr. forward) who put up 8.6 per game and point guard Shannon McCurdy, a 5-3 sophomore who averaged nine per game.

In their first meeting, Barthen scored nine points to pace Lakeview, while Kildoo and Clelland had 12 and 11, respectively for the Lady Eagles.

Cranberry vs. Greenville

The Greenville Lady Trojans are matched up against Cranberry, which has won three of the last five PIAA Class AA titles. The Lady Berries finished 16-0 in the TCAC-2 to capture the No. 1 seed heading into the D-10 playoffs.

Greenville is led by Tracy Walter (5-5 senior guard) who scored 11.7 per game. Kirsten Keller (6-0 senior center) chips in just under 11 per game.

Leading Cranberry is 5-6 senior guard Stefanie Cross, who averages 10.3 points per game and finished the season with 39 3-pointers. The Lady Berries' top scorer was Brooke Vernam (5-11 Sr. forward), who scored just under 11 per game. Senior Rachel Agnew (5.8 ppg) runs the show from the point, while 6-3 sophomore Cynthia Wilks (7.6 ppg) controls the paint.




CLASS A

Kennedy vs. Conneaut Lake

Kennedy heads into the post season winning 11 of its last 12 games, while Conneaut Lake enters losing five of its last seven games.

Jamie Cicuto (5-11 So. center) leads the Lady Golden Eagles with 14.1 points per game. The rest of the team is well-balanced in scoring, with four other players averaging at least 4.6 per game.

Two players pace Conneaut Lake in scoring. Kristy Deezik (5-10 Jr. forward) leads the way with 12.8 per game, while 5-10 sophomore Becky Kosnac chips in 10.8

Youngsville vs. Commodore Perry

Youngsville's two losses were agianst Cranberry, also a D-10 playoff team. Commodore Perry's lone victory came five games ago against West Middlesex, 45-30.

A trio of double-digit scorers lead Youngsville, led by 5-8 senior point guard Julie Nansen, who averages 15 points per game. Melissa Maze (5-11 Sr. forward) chips in 13.8 on average, while Amy Nansen is the all-around threat, good both inside and outside. Nansen (6-1 So. forward) complements her sister, Julie, with 13 per game.

The Lady Panthers are led by Sara Bindas (5-9 Sr. forward), who scores 5.7 per game. Kelly McKalip (5-7 Jr. forward) follows her with 5.6 per game.
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Updated Feb. 21, 1997
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