By Lisa Byers
January 6, 2009 — FRANKLIN — One of the keys to Meadville’s success so far this season has been its strong presence underneath the basket and its ability to take care of the basketball.
On Monday, the Lady Bulldogs showed what happens when neither of those things happen.
Meadville committed 34 turnovers and failed to get into an offensive flow of any kind as it fell to Franklin, 74-43, in Region 5 girls basketball action last night at the Knights’ Castle.
The loss snapped Meadville’s four-game winning streak. The Bulldogs fell to 6-4 overall and 1-2 in Region 5.
Franklin, coming off a 55-47 win over state powerhouse Mercyhurst Prep, improved to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the region.
“They forced us into their game,” Meadville coach Darryl Jones said. “They forced us to play their tempo. We didn’t get the ball inside. We threw the ball away. We let the game get away from us early.
“We have got to get better. We have to work on some things and get better.”
Meadville entered last night’s game averaging close to 54 points per game, while allowing just 39.4. But by halftime, Franklin had already surpassed that average, jumping out to a 45-17 lead thanks in part to 23 turnovers by the Bulldogs.
The Knights also shot an outstanding 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field in the opening half and scored another 15 points from the foul line which they visited 25 times.
And defensively, Franklin held Meadville’s “Big 3” — Victoria Severo, Arianna Waid and Toni Feidler — to just 14 points total.
“We saw them on film four times,” Franklin coach Todd Wetjen said. “We knew they had two or three players we had to defend. And we just wanted to get after them in the full court, give them very few uncontested shots and control the inside game.”
The first half proved to be the key for the Bulldogs, who were outscored by just three in the second half.
Meadville limited its turnovers to 11 in the second half and got the contribution it needed from Severo and Feidler. Severo had 13 of her 19 points in the second half, while Feidler added 11 of her 15.
“We just made way too many mistakes in the first half,” Jones said. “We had way too many turnovers. It looked like a grade school game. And it’s fundamental things, not coming to the pass, not getting separation when you get a pass. That absolutely killed us.”
That and playing in severe foul trouble.
Meadville finished the game with a team total 26 fouls. Three players — all starters fouled out. Waid was the first one to foul out with 3:53 left to go in the third quarter. She picked up her third foul with 3:25 to play in the first half on a charge that led to a technical foul being called on Jones. Her fourth foul came with 2:42 to play in the half.
Mottillo and Gerhart fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Franklin shot a total of 41 free throws in the contest.
“I’m not going to let my kids get beat up,” Jones said. “I’m standing up for them. It got ridiculous … I don’t ever say anything bad about the referees. You get what you get when you’re on the road. But it got to the point where it was a laughing matter.
“What’s going to end up happening is someone is going to get hurt.”
Franklin and Meadville, longtime rivals, were playing each other for the first time since the 2005-06 season when the Bulldogs went 0-3.
Meadville’s last win over the Knights was in 2003 when the Bulldogs won 46-40 to complete the season sweep.
“It’s good for the conference,” Wetjen said. “It’s two good teams who have had a pretty good rivalry over the years.”
Saddie Gravatt had a huge night for the Knights with a game-high 25 points. Freshman Natalie Hager, fresh off a 26-point performance in the win over Mercyhurst Prep, chipped in with 17 points.
Feidler finished the night with a double-double for the Bulldogs, adding 12 rebounds to her 15 points.
