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By PENNY WE1CHELDerrick Sporti EditorEDINBOROOil City girls clawed frombehind, staging one rally to get back into the game and another to win it, to claim the District 10 championship with a 51-00 decision over Sharon Kennedy Christian at McCocnb Field House here Saturday afternoon.The Oilerettes were down by 14 points on two occasions (hiring the first half, but trailed by only five at the half. But they were still behind tty nine with 6:20 left, yet held the Golden Eagles scoreless for the next six minutes and 15 secorxlsto pull out the win which kept their record perfect at 20-0.Oil City will now advance to inter-district competition, meeting WPIAL runner-up Baldwin in the first game of a triple header Wednesday at Edinbora Game time is 6 pm.The loss eliminated the Golden Eagles from the playoffs. They dropped out with a 24-1 record.Behind, 40-39, in the fourth quarter, JodiGault triggered the Oilerettes’ winning rally. The 5-3 senior, her right elbow bandaged throughfrom the floor, discarded the brace for the finale, and got hot.She hit from the corner and the foul line to pull the Oilerettes to within five before Peg McDouizal and Trish Erickson scored on follow-the first three pewhen she went one-for-30ups to close the deficit to one with 1:46 leftAfter the Eagles’ Carol Lally missed on a one-and-one, Sue Preston grabbed the rebound. TheOilerettes brought the ball down court Gault going one - on - one with Lally.Operating beyond the right-hand side of the key, Gault faked one way, went the other and fired in a 22-foot jumper with 32 seconds on the clock which put the Oilerettes in front 49-48.It was only 00 City’s third lead of the game, but it held on to it Kennedy proceeded to miss two shots at the basket and after the second rebound, Gault was fouled by Gloria Paaci.She netted the two free throws to give the Oilerettes a three-point cushion at 0:15.Rerave Carole Baumbeck scored on a follow-up with five seconds left to cIom the gap to one again. lt;And so with two seconds left the scene was Gault on the foul line, after being backed byPasci on the in-bounds pass, and the Oil City defense playing on Kennedy’s end of the court Gault missed the free throw, and the game ended with a Kennedy player, trying a backcourt lob which hit the front rim — although it wouldn’thave counted anyway.Possibly the big key to the victory was the Oilerettes’ domination inside over the taller Kennedy team.Oil City outrebounded the Eagles, 44-32, with Peg McDougal counting 21 rebounds, sophomore forward Trish Erickson nine and Preston andguard Lynn Petulla six apiece.Six of Oil City’s 22 field goals came on direct follow-ups underneath, three each by McDougal and Erickson, as Kennedy’s six-foot senior pivot, Mary Ann Bralich, was hardly a factor.McDougal finished as the game’s high scorer with 24 points. In addition to her three follow-ups, she took eight passes from Gault and wheeled around inside for eight more baskets. Erickson ended with 12 and Gault’s explosion at the end gave her 10 — her low for the season, but, again, in the clutch.The Oilerettes took an early 4-2 lead, but then the fast-breaking Eagles tallied 14 unansweredpoints before Oil City came back to trail by six, 16-10, at the quarter.But early in the second period Kennedy began to widen its lead again via the free threw line with McDougal and Preston each picking up their third fouls.With 4:31 to go before intermission Kennedy had a 28-14 lead, and at it looked as if the Oilerettes were in danger of being blown off the courtBut Pasci, who had scored 12 of her team’s first 28 points, was charged with her third personal. and sat dowaThen the Oilerettes began to get back into the game, outscoring the Eagles, 12-3, the remainder of the half. Included in the spree were three of the follow-ups and a couple of breakaways, Gaultfeeding Erickson and McDougalKennedy still held a 31-26 lead at intermission, but Gault hit McDougal inside forfour baskets to open the third quarter and Oil City had its second lead of the game, 3433.was short-lived, though. Kennedy guardandranquarter.The Oilerettes closed to within three again at the start of the third quarter on two baskets by McDougal, but Kennedy scored on three straight breaks to go ahead, 48-39, and it looked as if thegame were out of reach.But Gault, who hit three of six from the floor during the last quarter, was only beginning herstretch run as it turned out Kennedy, as the Oilerettes begin to cut into its lead once more, began to lose its poise. The Eagles would go up court, and either force shots or take bad percentage shots. Kennedy Christian hit on only four ' “ “ ,J 1 the last quartergoal attempts duringCindy Diatko tallied five straight Lally added a fullcourt drive as theup another nine-point spread by the tailend of thepointsEagles■While Oil City had a decided edge in rebounds, there was not much to chose from in other statistical departments. Oil City hit on 22 of 60 field goal attempts for 37 per cent, while Kennedy made 20 of 59 for 34. In taking a 16-4 lead during the first quarter, the Eagles were a blistering eight-for-teaTurnovers abounded for each team* Oil City with 35 and Kennedy with 32.Diatko was Kennedy’s top scorer with 17, while Lally added 12 to match Pasci.\ v.w%%v.v*v.v.%v.v.*hv.v*v.v.v.v.\v.\v.v.\v.v.v.vv.v.v.v.v.v. v.v.v.vXs;.• •*i • •• • V• • • •• •• •OilerettesKept TryingBy PENNY WEICHEL Derrick Sports EditorThe Oil City High School girls’ basketball team kept trying, and landed the big one - or at least A big one.Down by 14midw«y through the second quarter, and still down by nine with just six minutes left in the game, the Oilerettes reached down and pulled out a 51-50 victory over previously unbeaten Sharon Kennedy Christian in the District 10 championship game Saturday afternoon at Edknboro State.41They really stuck with it; they really had that stick - to- iveness,• *I%•VI • *it’ said coach Dixie Agnew. “They kept trying.” The mark of a champion; the no-foldo.The win represented the first district championship in basketball by any Oil City varsity team—boys or girls—and was a sweet one for the Oilerettes, who despite their three -year dominance (40-0) in Section 2, had always been denied in the post • season playoffs—namely by Sharpeville.The question before Saturday afternoon was would they fall short once more, and for a time it looked as if they might fell way short.But they kept hammering away, as if not to want to bedenied again, and eventually were down the Golden Eagles.Ironically, in the wid, it was Sharon Kennedy Christian wholost its poise.One of the big things in the victory was the way the Oilerettes handled Kennedy on the boards with a 44-32 advantage in rebounds. This surprised coach Agnew.They had so much height (including 6-0 Mary AnnBralich, 44 Gloria Pasci and 5-7 Ginger Marsnchin) we knewwe’d really have to hustle on the boards, box out and gatposition,*' she said.Peg McDougal gathered 21 rebounds and sophomore whiz Trish Erickson added nine and the two combined toconvert ttx caroms into follows underneath the basket The victory was unusual in that Jodi Gault, normally an unerring shooter anywhere from 25 feet on in, was off target for three quarters.That meant the Oilerettes, sometimes thought of as the Peg and Jodi Show, needed a total team effort—and theygot it with Erickson, Sue Preston and Lynn Petulla all pitching in with some key plays. “It takas more than two,” saidAgnew. -It lakes all fiw plus the bench MGault injured her elbow in the previous playoff same against Fair view, and after two days of whirlpool and icepack treatments, donned a bandage on her right elbow through the first three periods of play.She shot an un-Gault-like one • for - 20 with the bandage, nd then a Gault * like three • for - six after disposing of thebandage at the start of the fourth quarter, including the game- winning field goal and free throws.The Oil City coach reported the elbow has bean painful to Gault, and that she’ll continue whirlpool treatments. Whether she'll be wearing it Wednesday against Baldwin inCoach Dixie Agnew accepts championship trophy(Photos by Chris Porter)Number 1In D-IO At Lent!Sue Preston (42) fires up short shotOil CM? * OmIIMe Dm »IMcDonaldHal*Total*4tu»1o0S IB___1 S LaByI S4 Bn Ik*5 U PaeM6 I ManacMai 0 0 0TII41II I? 0 U0 t 4 U1 • 0 ta 7 II Total*M 10 10Scenes From The Girls* from injury - especially considering the way the «istrict 10 Title GameSoon by QnatMnCHI CUy10 II 0 14-0114 15 11her from injury — especially considering me way senior plays. She has been known to pull a few “Pete Reisers.”A great example was a defensive play she made near the end of the aecond quarter when she dove to the floor to stuff a feat break attempt by the Golden Eagles.Which is another angle of Gault’s game, and one of the isny ways she can beat you. “The ball • handling was there, and that’s what we needed too,” said Agnew. So were nine biglets.With the district trophy safely tucked away, there could be cause for concern of a letdown as the Oilerettes prepare to clash with Baldwin, the WPIAL runner • up.But Agnew said, “The girls had in mind going to states all along. They've had states more in mind than districts.“We wmt to go.”Gannon Claims RegionalPa f AP) -ranked GannonERIE,Eighth •claimed the NCAA Division II Eastern Regional basketball title with the help of Willie Wade and 25 points, 19 in the secondcame fromSaturdayPost 67-60MarylandWins EastPITTSBURGH (AP) -University of Maryland sur- ahead 43-33 with 15:23 to play,TheAhead 58-56 with 4:15 to go,Gannon plaed slowdown ball the rest of the way, making seven of its last nine points on foul shots. Post, outrebounded 50-24, was able to sink only two shots down the stretch.Gannon will take a 25-3 record into the Division II national championships Wednesday at Evansville, Ind.In consolation play, Kevin Dougherty scored 28 points to lead Philadelphia Textile to an 80-75 victory over Hartwick.FifteenUn-anked Postwaspoor final-night__________challenge fromhost Pittsburgh to win the three-day Eastern Invitational Intercollegiate swimming meethere with 421 points.Pitt finish a strong second in the field of 12 with 376 points.third with 275but Gannon outscored the I/mg Islanders 14-2 over the next five minutes to gain the lead.Syracuse waswhile Villanova caine «n250withD-19 GirlsOil City 51, Sharon Kennedy Christian 50 (champ)D-10AErie Prep 66, Erie Academy 62 (champ)Meadville 73, Warren 53(consv)The mad scramble for the loose ballPeg McDougal ignores obstacles
Newspaper Details
Oil City Derrick
Oil City, Pennsylvania, US
Mon, Mar 10, 1975
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Oil R.
PA, USA 24 Mar 2023
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