By Lisa Byers
Meadville Tribune
February 10, 2012 7:00 a.m. CONNEAUTVILLE —
Many believe strange things happen when there’s a full moon in the sky. Perhaps they happen even a few days later.
Conneaut Valley shot under 24 percent from the field and was out-rebounded 32-20 on Thursday night. But the Indians found a way as they wrapped up at least a share of the Region 3 girls basketball title with a 36-23 win over Cochranton.
“If you asked me to look back and tell you how we won the game … I couldn’t tell you,” Conneaut Valley coach Rick Chesko said. “I just couldn’t tell you.
“We made some foul shots when we had to. And we had a couple steals … and lay-ups. But other than that, I don’t know. It was just a blur. Every mistake seemed to be amplified by the importance of this game.”
It was that kind of game.
A lot was riding on last night’s contest for Cochranton. The Cardinals entered the game in fourth place in Region 3 — just a game back of Saegertown.
The District 10 committee has the option of taking eight Class A teams to the postseason. In the past, however, the committee has taken just the top three teams from Region 1 and 3. But Commodore Perry, the third place team in Region 1, is just 6-15 overall. West Middlesex is the fourth place team at 11-8. So there is a chance District 10 could expand to eight teams.
Cochranton doesn’t want to depend on a chance. A win over Conneaut Valley last night would have gone a long ways. And they showed from the start how much they wanted the win against the Indians.
Cochranton had a 9-6 lead after a quarter of play and had already tallied 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
“I think we played the first three quarters like we didn’t really have anything to lose,” Cochranton coach Gary Egli said. “The fourth quarter … I think that’s when we started thinking we had to win.”
The fourth quarter was a big one for the Cardinals.
Conneaut Valley opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 12-9 lead with 6:37 to play. The Cardinals were able to recapture the lead on a jumper by Madison Bernarding with 2:51 to play in the first half. But the Indians rallied back to take a 18-15 advantage at the break and extended that lead to six (25-19) at the end of three quarters.
“In the first quarter, they got it seemed like every rebound and they hustled after every loose ball,” Chesko said of Cochranton. “As I told (the team) at the end of first quarter, they were flat out out-hustling us. Fortunately we were able to regain our composure and turn the tables on them.”
Cochranton did cut it back to a four-point deficit with a jumper from Kendell Dickson to start the fourth quarter, but that’s when the game started to slip away from the Cards. Cochranton didn’t score again until Dickson hit a pair of free throws with 1:36 to play.
Valley, meanwhile, did what it had to at the foul line, going 6-for-10 over the final 1:17 to preserve the win.
“We put them at the line and they made them,” Egli said. “Our fouls were while they were shooting and they stepped up and made a couple and kept us from closing in.”
Emily Steigerwald scored four of her 10 points in the fourth quarter. She also finished with nine rebounds for the game. Kristen Baker led the Indians, who forced 29 turnovers, with 11 points.
Valley (16-3, 10-0 Region 3) can capture sole possession of the Region 3 championship on Monday with a win at Eisenhower.
For the Cards, Morghan Egli had a big night. She finished with a team-high nine points to go along with six blocks and 13 rebounds. Dickson had 10 rebounds.
