CRANBERRY 51, BROOKVILLE 33

D9Sports.com powered by the RRR Roadhouse

Feb. 24, 2009 - District 9 Class AA Girls' Semifinals

By Chris Rossetti

CLARION – Cranberry outscored Brookville 33-17 in the second half to break open a two-point game at halftime and get a 51-33 win in the District 9 Class AA girls’ semifinals Tuesday night at Clarion High School.

“We decided to play our game, which is run and gun, run the floor and play up-in-your-face defense,” Cranberry head coach Chrissy Shumaker said about the Berries second-half play. “It was our intensity level. We looked scared in the first half. We looked absolutely scared.”

Brookville led 16-12 with 1:22 left in the first half but Cranberry ended the half on a 6-0 run thanks to six points by Sarah Lutz to take an 18-16. Lutz then came out in the second half and buried a 3-pointer to put the Berries up 21-16.

“Sarah really came to play,” Shumaker said. “She was a player tonight. She actually got us a little bit of momentum at the end of the first half and kept going with it. She hit some big three’s for us.”

Lutz’s 3-pointer at the start of the second half started an 18-4 run that was actually a 24-4 run when the six points from the end of the first half were counted. The run in the third quarter was a well balanced one with four different players scoring and six assists being handed out on eight baskets.

“Our guards were huge,” Shumaker said. “It was huge for our transition game.”

Cranberry’s second-half run helped the Berries take a 36-22 lead going to the fourth quarter.

Brookville tried to rally in the fourth quarter starting the quarter on an 8-2 run to get within eight, 38-30, on a 3-pointer by Kate Reinsel with 5:20 to play. The Lady Raiders still trailed by eight, 41-33, after a Janelle Mescall layup off an Alyssa Byerly assist with 4:42 to play. But that was Brookville’s last basket, as Cranberry finished the game on a 10-0 run.

“It’s never enough,” Shumaker said. “But I didn’t get worried. We needed to settle down and run a disciplined offense.”

Lutz led Cranberry with 19 points, while Heeter, who sat out the final 5:47 of the first half with two fouls, added 15 points and 13 rebounds. Maggie O’Neil chipped in with nine points and five boards.

Kate Reinsel led Brookville with 11 points and six rebounds, while Janelle Mescall had five points and 10 rebounds. Brynna Hetrick added seven points despite picking up three first-half fouls and getting her fourth early in the fourth quarter prompting Brookville head coach Mark Powell to sit her down for over three minutes in the final quarter.

Cranberry will now take on Kane for the District 9 title at 6 p.m. Friday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym. The Berries, who were runner-ups to Karns City last year, are gunning for their second District 9 title since joining the district in 2005, while Kane is looking for its first-ever District 9 title.

NOTES – With the win, Cranberry clinches a PIAA playoff spot.

CRANBERRY 51, BROOKVILLE 33

Score by Quarters

Brookville 4 12 6 11 – 33

Cranberry 6 12 18 15 – 51

Brookville – 33

Alyssa Byerly 0 2-4 2, Janelle Mescall 1 3-4 5, Kate Reinsel 3 4-5 11, Jessica Byerly 1 0-0 2, Amanda Leibman 1 2-3 4, Brynna Hetrick 3 0-0 7, Morgan Castle 1 0-02 2, Megan Ion 0 0-0 0, Amber Cook 0 0-0 0, Cheyanna Ross 0 0-0 0, Emily Ferraro 0 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Hill 0 0-1 0. Totals 10 11-19 33.

Cranberry – 51

Sarah Lutz 7 2-5 19, Hannah Heeter 7 1-2 15, Laura Heineman 2 0-0 4, Chyanne Shuffstall 1 0-0 2, Maggie O’Neil 2 5-8 9, Lyndsay Burneisen 1 0-0 2, Alyssa Craft 0 0-0 0, Kirsten Neidich 0 0-0 0, Kylie Mason 0 0-0 0, Cassie Groner 0 0-2 0. Totals 20 8-15 51.

Three-pointers – Brookville 2 (Reinsel, Hetrick). Cranberry 3 (Lutz 3).