GIRLS BASKETBALL Poland drops opener in OT

The inexperienced Bulldogs gave a good account before losing to Blackhawk.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- Poland High girls basketball coach Jamie Dunn may have lost four starters from last year's team, but he isn't making any excuses.
"It's like I told my girls -- we don't have down years," Dunn said. "That's for other programs. We feel like we've built our program to be solid every year.
"And eventually, everyone gets a turn to play."
For several players, that turn has come early.
After advancing to the Division II district final last season, the Bulldogs lost two starters to graduation: Kristy Gaudiose (now at YSU) and Taryn Carlson. Poland also took unexpected hits when Katherine McGarry transferred to Salem and senior Audrey Iudiciani decided not to play.
Inexperienced team
Needless to say, the Bulldogs entered Tuesday's opener at Blackhawk as a young, inexperienced team.
They came out of it as a much better team.
"I was pleased with how we played," Dunn said. "We hung in there."
The Bulldogs did more than that, holding a more experienced Blackhawk team to 26 percent shooting from the field in regulation before falling 52-46 in overtime.
"This game is going to help us grow up," Dunn said. "It was physical and you don't know how you're going to respond until you've been held, grabbed, pinched and scratched. This is going to help us get better."
Senior Steffi Graf led the Bulldogs (0-1) with 20 points, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Junior guard Alex Rokicki had seven rebounds and five assists before fouling out with 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter, while sophomore Jessica Toth added nine points.
Blackhawk, however, was too much in overtime, outscoring the Bulldogs 13-7 to put the game away.
"We do have an experienced team, although a few of our girls are hurting right now," Blackhawk coach Mike DeChellis said. "Both teams played hard, but we stepped it up a little in overtime."
Strohecker gets 17
Senior Renee Strohecker led the Cougars (2-1) with 17 points, Lindsay DeChellis had 11 points and Renee Rawding had 10 points and six rebounds.
"These are the type of games we want to play," DeChellis said. "Poland is solid defensively and they're a tough team to play."
And the Bulldogs -- who start just one senior -- should get better as the season wears on.
"We don't worry about wins and losses [at this point]," Dunn said. "It's about how we play."
And Tuesday's verdict?
"I thought we did OK," he said.
scalzo@vindy.com