Sports
N-Y Falls To Garaway In Regional Semis
By: Lucas Widman
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A game that was plagued with turnovers would come down to which team could make the fewer mistakes in the closing minutes of the game. That's how Garaway (24-3) advanced to the second round of the Division III Region 11 Tournament in a 47-44 victory over Nelsonville-York.
The Buckeyes (17-6) controlled the game until 3:44 left in the third quarter, but would struggle to stay ahead of the Lady Pirates until the final buzzer.
Despite committing three turnovers on three possessions in the final minutes of the game, N-Y had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer in their final possession of the game with 11 seconds to go. Similar to their previous three possessions, the Lady Bucks would watch the ball, and the game, slip out of their reach.
“We were behind, but this team has a lot of guts,” N-Y coach Amanda Dalton said. “With fifteen seconds to go, we were down four and we were still fighting. That’s what this team has been about for the last four years.”
The loss ends the careers of four special players for Nelsonville-York: Angela Meade, Brooke Breeze, Jennah Addis and Cassidy Dupler.
“They’re irreplaceable. When I think about the heart and the dedication from Angela, Cassidy, Brooke, and Jennah, they’ve done an outstanding job,” Dalton said.
The Lady Bucks will be in the hands of junior center Madison Davis next season. Davis scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds against the Lady Pirates.
N-Y allowed Garaway senior guard Courtney Putt to score 15 points in the game.
The Lady Buckeyes held the Lady Pirates to just four points in the first quarter, but would have scoring problems of their own in the second half, allowing Garaway back into the game and eventually to take the game.
Davis and sophomore forward Kaitlyn Hurd has been a dominant duo in the paint this season and will look to duplicate that success in 2014-2015.
Reaching the regional tournament was a first for the Nelsonville-York Lady Buckeyes, but coach Dalton expects to be back.
“This is a growing process and the bar is set right now to keep going in that direction in the future. The experience that the other girls have had will keep us moving forward.”