Published Sunday, March 7, 1999 
With Jenny Bell and Alana Zajac both saddled with foul trouble early in the contest, freshman Julie Bell tossed in 10 first quarter points as Sharon (25-3) overcame an early 11-4 deficit to down Grove City, 51-45, at the Grove City College Arena in District 10's AAA consolation game.
Sharon now advances into interdistrict play and will face an opponent yet to be determined.
"She really came in and stepped it up," Sharon head coach Mary Jo Staunch said of Bell. "We really utilized her inside and she was putting the ball in the hoop and drawing some fouls. I think that definitely shifted the momentum our way."
Bell also pulled down four rebounds in the first frame and seven for the contest.
"She had a great first quarter, and that's what you need," Grove City head coach Roger Flynn said. "You need people to come off the bench and make some baskets. Bell played real well."
Sharon expanded its lead to 26-18 in the second period with a 9-2 spurt, keyed by senior guard Muhsinah Saleem. Saleem scored four of her 13 points during the run and also handed out 2 of her 4 assists. Saleem also had 6 of Sharon's 13 steals in the contest.
Saleem's 13 poins also pushed her over the 1,500-point plateau, becoming the sixth to do so after Kennedy Christian's Jamie Cicuto reached it just hours earlier.
"We set the tempo with her," Staunch said. "She makes a lot of good things happen. She gets us moving, she gets us motivated."
Sharon's lead continued to grow as the second half commenced, thanks in large part to junior Tricia Sinkuc. Sinkuc drilled the last of her three 3-pointers in the third quarter and also added a putback to stretch the Sharon lead. Meanwhile, Grove City scored only two points from the field during the third quarter.
"Tricia's kind of that player that you can always count on, it seems like, for that three or that two when you need it-or for that key rebound. She put some key baskets in for us," Staunch said. Sinkuc finished with a game-high 16 points, along with 5 rebounds.
However, the Lady Eagles continued to battle and eventually whittled the lead back to single-digits, thanks to the all-around play of senior guard Cara Denniston. Denniston tossed in 8 of her team-high 15 points in the final period. Denniston added 6 assists and 5 rebounds to her ledger.
"Cara had a 'refuse-to-lose' attitude," Flynn said. "She did whatever she could do to carry us to victory. We fell a bit short, but it certainly was not because of lack of effort. I thought all five (seniors) played inspired ball and they played as hard as they could. It's unfortunate that things didn't work out in the end."
Grove City closed the gap to six with 1:06 on freshman Carly Denniston's 3-pointer. The Lady Eagles' defense also forced Sharon into a dozen fourth-quarter turnovers, which aided the GC effort. However, Jenny Bell and Zajac each split a pair of free throws to give Sharon its third win over Grove City this season.
"I thought we got a little too confident at the end," Staunch said. "Also, I thought we played around with the ball up top a little bit too much. We should've continued to penetrate and go to the hoop."
Seniors Stacie Harvey and Julie Laird added six and eight points, respectively. Cara Denniston, Harvey and Laird joined Jessica Clancey and Morgan Ryan in closing their careers at Grove City.
"You can't say enough about these seniors," Flynn said. "We're sorely going to miss them."
Flynn continued, "We feel as if we have a good nucleus in the future. They, like the seniors, have an outstanding attitude toward the game and we're expecting them to be ready to play next season."
Notes:Sharon shot 46 percent (16 of 35) from the field, compared to Grove City's 33 percent (12 of 36). ... The teams combined for 50 turnovers and 44 fouls. ... Last season, Sharon lost the D-10 AAA consy game to Villa Maria at Grove City College. ... Saleem now has 1,502 career points.
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DISTRICT 10 CLASS AAA CONSOLATION
SHARON 17 12 11 11 51
GROVE CITY 16 7 6 16 45
SHARON - Zajac 0-1-2-1; Banick 0-0-0-0; Je. Bell 1-1-2-3; Sinkuc 6-1-2-16; Saleem 3-7-11-13; Gavala 0-0-0-0; Suvoy 0-0-2-0; Odem 1-2-2-4; Ju. Bell 5-4-4-14. 3-pt. goals:Sinkuc 3. Totals: 16-16-25-51.
GROVE CITY - Harvey 1-4-5-6; Laird 2-4-4-8; Ryan 0-0-2-0; Cara Denniston 3-9-12-15; Clancey 1-0-0-2; McFeely 0-0-0-0; Bashline 1-0-1-2; Carly Denniston 1-1-2-4; Krantz 1-0-0-3. 3-pt. goals:Carly Denniston 1, Krantz 1. Totals: 12-19-29-45.
