River Fends Off Shadyside
Flannery nets 24 points in win
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SHADYSIDE -- River and Shadyside have become relatively common foes during the course of the last couple of seasons.
Along with their regular season meetings, they also squared off in last season's OVAC Class 2A championship game. The rivals renewed acquantainces Monday evening in front of a large, boisterous crowd inside the Tiger Den.
The Pilots found themselves down by a bucket with 6:10 to go in the game after sophomore Baylee Wach connected on a bonus basket.
That was evidently the wake-up call the Pilots needed
If the latest meeting was an indication, a third -- and maybe fourth meeting in the Ohio postseason -- could be forthcoming once again. Behind a strong fourth quarter and a decisive 19 of 28 effort at the foul line, the Pilots won their third straight game over the Tigers, 54-48, seizing the early leg up on the chase for the Class 2A and Division IV sectional top seed.
"This really gives the girls confidence," River coach Rick Isaly said. "We lost up here last year, so to be able to get a win on their floor is big for us."
With less than two weeks remaining before the OVAC cutoff, the Pilots are 12-2, while Shadyside drops to 13-3. The two teams meet again next Monday in Hannibal.
"If you look at the games we've played against River the last two years, almost every single one is within like a (possession or two), every single one," Shadyside coach Serge Gentile said. "It's a quality opponent and very good team, but for some reason, we didn't play very well in the first half and they deserve credit for that."
River led by as many as 12 in the third quarter, but the Tigers -- behind solid contribution from Brooke Selmon, a 3 from Julie Hendershot and a conventional three-point play from Tory Hendershot -- scored the final 12 to knot the game at 35 entering the fourth.
They proceeded to hold Shadyside without a point for almost five minutes and in the mean time, they scored 11 in a row.
Senior all-Ohioan Lauren Flannery played like the future NCAA Division II college player that she is. On both ends of the floor, too.
Flannery, who missed two foul shots toward the end of the third quarter, made up for that in a big way in the fourth. She scored half of her 24 in the final quarter. Included was a sharp 10-of-10 effort at the line. She also took a textbook charge on the defensive end that wiped off a Shadyside goal.
"We did what we had to do in the fourth quarter and down the stretch, especially, to win the game," Isaly said. "We had the right person with the ball in her hands. We want the ball in certain people's hands in different situations and Lauren came through."
Shadyside finally snapped its scoreless skid with a Wach bucket. Shadyside was able to get as close as four on two different occassions after Jaycee Mayeres buckets, but the Pilots continued to knock down free throws.
On top of Flannery's exploit, senior Carsyn Reynolds and Alli Long knocked down free throws, too.
While Gentile applauded his team's effort to fight back into the game, he lamented the Tigers' performance in the first half in which they trailed 14-9 after one and 28-20 at halftime.
"River's a good team and when you come out in the first half and let someone totally outplay you, it usually doesn't end up very well for you," Gentile said. "We did what we needed to do to get ourselves back in the game in the third quarter, but (the first half) performance feels like a re-occurring theme and maybe I am not doing a good enough job because it's something that continues to happen to us. If we don't fix it, it's going to cause us some issues for the rest of the season."
Flannery's production, which also included six rebounds and five steals, was complemented by Reynolds, who finished with 15. Alli Long, who was solid on the glass, also had nine points.
Selmon was Shadyside's leading scorer with 14. Wach was held to 10 and Hendershot, the Tigers' second-leading scorer on the season, was limited to just seven.