ECC 61, OTTO-ELDRED 51

D9Sports.com powered by the RRR Roadhouse

Feb. 18, 2009 - District 9 Class A Girls' Quarterfinals

Information for this story is courtesy of the DuBois Courier-Express

ST. MARYS – The top-seeded Elk County Catholic Lady Crusaders jumped on visiting Otto-Eldred early and often on their way to a 61-51 win in the District 9 Class A quarterfinals Thursday night.

The score was probably closer than it looked. ECC led 35-11 at halftime and 46-27 going into the fourth quarter and milked the clock throughout the final part of the game to secure the win and a berth in the state playoffs after a one-year hiatus. It’s the fourth time in the last five years that ECC has earned a state playoff berth.

But the Lady Crusaders (25-1) haven’t won a District 9 title since 1989 and they’ll have to beat fourth-seeded Austin Tuesday at a site and time to be announced to get into next Saturday’s championship game.

Balance has been a key for ECC all season and it was no different against Otto-Eldred as four Lady Crusaders reached double figures, led by Kirstie Pistner’s 17 points. Emily Detsch scored 15 points, Bre Grimone finished with 12 points and Kaitlyn Geci put in 10 points.

Taylor Thomas’ 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots and Justine Wilkins’ 12 points paced the eighth-seeded Lady Terrors (13-11).

The win erased some bad memories at least a little from last year as the top-seeded Lady Crusaders were ousted by eighth-seeded Clarion.

ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 61,

OTTO-ELDRED 51

Score By Quarters

O-E     7          4          16        24        —        51

ECC   18        17        11        15        —        61

Otto-Eldred - 51

Justine Wilkins 5 1-2 12, Jocelyn Cochran 3 0-0 7, Jordan Beckworth 0 7-9 7, Breanna Price 3 0-0 7, Spryce York 2 1-2 5, Cassie Cochran 0 0-0 0, Rachel Wilcox 0 0-0 0, Taylor Thomas 6 1-3 13. Totals: 19 10-16 51.

Elk County Catholic - 61

Bre Grimone 5 2-2 12, Kirstie Pistner 6 4-5 17, Abbey Salter 1 1-2 3, Kaitlyn Geci 3 4-6 10, Emily Detsch 6 3-5 15, Karly Carnovale 0 0-0 0, Sandy Levenduski 1 0-0 2, Nikki Gaton 1 0-0 2, Dani Cassels 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Hunter 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 14-20 61.

3-pointers: Otto-Eldred 3 (Wilkins, J. Cochran, Price), Elk County Catholic 1 (Pistner).