ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 55, NORTH CLARION 38

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Feb. 27, 2010 - District 9 Class A Quarterfinals

By Chris Rossetti

ST. MARYS – Buoyed by a fast start, the Elk County Catholic girls’ basketball team cruised into the District 9 Class A semifinals with a 55-38 win over visiting North Clarion Saturday night.

The defending champion Lady Crusaders (21-4) outscored North Clarion (14-10) 16-4 in the first quarter.

“The fast start was important,” ECC head coach Ken Pistner said. “There was no doubt there were a lot of nerves for both teams. There was a nice size crowd. We were a little more patient and jump out early.”

Emily Detsch was a big reason for ECC’s success, as the senior and lone returning starter from last season’s title team, scored a career-high 27 points while hitting 10 shots, including two from behind the arc.

“Emily was Emily,” Pistner said. “On top of her 27 points, she also guarded Karlee Cyphert (12.4 ppg) shutting her down. As a team, we played really good defense and forced them into a decent amount of turnovers.”

Cyphert was held scoreless for the first time this season negating North Clarion’s one advantage of having two players averaging in double digits to ECC’s one.

After the rough first quarter, North Clarion stabilized in the second quarter outscoring ECC 14-12 to close to within 10, 28-18, at halftime. But ECC responded in the third quarter moving the lead to 19, 45-26, by the end of the quarter.

Taylor Frank added seven points for ECC, while Emily Gregory and Lexie Meholic each added six while helping the Lady Crusaders claim a PIAA playoff spot for the second straight year despite losing the four starters from last year’s squad.

“It says a lot about the young kids and a lot about our two seniors, Emily Detsch and Dani Cassels,” Pistner said. “With a young team, you need to get senior leadership and we got it. Getting to the state playoffs means a lot. It is the third goal behind winning a state championship and a district championships we set each year. It is real important for the program and especially for a young team like outs. The experience we will gain is real important.”

Jess Tarr led North Clarion with 16 points, while Sarah Frederick added seven.

“North Clarion has a nice team, and Jess Tarr and Karlee Cyphert had nice careers,” Pistner said.

ECC will face Otto-Eldred in the semifinals Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 55, NORTH CLARION 38

Score by Quarters

North Clarion 4 14 8 12 – 38

Elk Co. Cath. 16 12 17 10 – 55

North Clarion – 38

Karlee Cyphert 0 0-2 0, Jess Tarr 7 2-4 16, Jordan Tarr 1 1-2 4, Alicia Carroll 2 0-0 4, Sarah Frederick 3 1-3 7, Angela McCauley 1 0-0 2, Ashley Hollis 1 2-2 4, Kelsey Schmader 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 7-15 38.

Elk County Catholic – 55

Emily Detsch 10 5-5 27, Dani Cassels 1 0-0 2, Taylor Frank 2 3-3 7, Karly Carnovale 2 0-0 5, Emily Gregory 3 0-0 6, Ellie Petrosky 0 0-0 0, Lexie Meholic 3 0-0 6, Jena Struble 0 0-1 0, Abbi Petrosky 1 0-0 2, Taylor Dacanal 0 0-0 0, Anna Hawkins 0 0-1 0, Maggie Sorg 0 0-0 0, Kristie Hanes 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 8-10 55.

Three-pointers – North Clarion 1 (Jordan Tarr). ECC 3 (Detsch 2, Carnovale).