The Herald, Sharon, Pa: Winter sports '97-'98

Published Thursday, Feb. 26, 1998

DISTRICT 10 CLASS AA
Yellow Jackets 43, Trojans 30
Lady Trojans tumble

By Ed Farrell
Herald Sports Writer

EDINBORO _ The Greenville High School girls' basketball team is enjoying, perhaps, the finest season in the program's history.

But a byproduct of that success is that the Lady Trojans also are venturing into uncharted territory, which was reflected in the final 4-plus minutes of the club's 43-30 District 10 Class AA semifinal setback to Girard Wednesday night.

Greenville trailed virtually from the outset, until Abrial Hayes converted both ends of a 1-and-1 free-throw situation with 4:43 remaining in the game, providing the Lady Trojans with their initial lead of the contest, 30-29.

But with Courtney Thompson tallying half of her club-high dozen points, Erie County League titlist Girard garnered the victory by scoring the game's final 14 points.

In the last quarter, Mercer County Athletic Conference champion Greenville connected on only two of 11 floor shots and committed a handful of turnovers.

``We got a little excited, maybe, at times when we didn't need to get excited, and we had some key turnovers that we should not have had,'' Greenville head coach Robin Fisher acknowledged, emphasizing, ``But, you know, that's gonna happen. These are young girls and they're playing their hearts out and they want to win very badly, and sometimes you just make bad decisions and get the jitters, and that happened to us a little bit.''

Parlaying 10 of Abrial Hayes' team-leading 13 points, Greenville overcame 6-for-17 first-half shooting to remain in contention at intermission, trailing 21-14. Six and five points, respectively, by Kelly Heath and T.L. Thompson and Heidi Lunser's 4-point, 4-rebound effort keyed the YellowJackets.

When Girard's Sheila Samol scored off an inbounds play 38 seconds into the second half, the 'Jackets equalled their largest lead of the game (9).

But Greenville embarked on an 8-0 spree, fueled by a pair of Tracy Walter baseline jumpers, Celeste Buiser's pair of freebies and a Kirsten Keller bucket courtesy of a Walter pass. When Girard head coach Larry Seneta hailed his second timeout of the quarter, Greenville had drawn within 23-22 with 4:14 left in the third period.

However with 3:32 remaining in the frame, Walter misfired on a pair of charity tosses, and two Lunser freebies and a Courtney Thompson drive enabled Girard to assume a 27-22 margin at the third-quarter turn.

The Lady Trojans commenced the final frame with a 5-0 spurt on a Dana Yokubeak free throw, another Walter baseline runner, and Keller's put-back of her own miss, as Greenville drew even at 27 with 5:29 to play.

Courtney Thompson's drive 16 seconds later regained a 29-27 Girard edge, but three Hayes' free throws during the ensuing 17 seconds gave Greenville a 30-29 at 4:43.

Girard then displayed savvy gleaned only from a program accustomed to annual playoff appearances.

Following a Greenville turnover, Ann Mimm scored for a 31-30 YellowJackets' lead with 4:11 left. Another Greenville miscue preceded Samol's put-back of a Mimm miss at the 3:08 mark, then Courtney Thompson took over, scoring Girard's next six points.

``We kind of jumped on her back and rode her to the finish line,'' asserted Seneta.

In spite of the setback, Fisher remained optimistic.

``I think we proved tonight that we can play with anyone, if we play our game, that we can stay with anyone and beat anyone; it's just a matter of getting the job done.

``I'm looking forward to going on to the state tournament,'' Fisher said, concluding, ``This is a great group of kids and I'm really looking forward to working with them for at least a few more games.''

Notes: Greenville (17-9) connected on a third of its floor shots (11 of 33) and 8 of 13 free throws, compared with respective totals of 14 for 37 (37.8) and 14 of 19 (73.7) for Girard (25-2) ... Keller's game-high 8 caroms gave Greenville a 27-26 edge on the boards. ... Greenville was guilty of 17 turnovers, nearly twice as many as Girard (9), and the 'Jackets made only 3 second-half miscues, compared with 9 for Greenville, which will meet Cranberry _ a 55-32 loser to Saegertown _ on Saturday at a site and time to be announced, in the D-10 consolation contest. Cranberry ousted Greenville in last year's opening round.

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Updated Feb. 26, 1998
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