Bad taste erased: Iroquois no match for Sharon, 65-48

The Tigers lost to Maplewood in the opening round of last year's playoffs.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Sharon High girls basketball team wasn't going to let history repeat itself when the Tigers opened the District 10-AA playoffs Saturday against Iroquois.
Getting out of the gate at a fast pace, the Tigers (24-1) never trailed in a 65-48 victory at Buzz Ridl Gymnasium.
In February 2005, the Tigers lost to Maplewood in the opening round and lived with the disappointment for the year.
"That has been on our wall since we lost that game," said Sharon coach Gene Sarazen. "We kept reminding the girls about that loss and that we didn't want it to happen again. It has been a long season for us because we basically clinched [the region title] midway through the season, then we had a long week off before today's game. Our kids just wanted to rectify what happened last season and they couldn't wait for today to come."
The Tigers built a 21-13 lead after one period and extended their advantage to 34-22 at halftime.
"We usually get out on people quick," Sarazen said. "If we can do that, we feel we can control the game.
"These kids are well focused and now that they have been together for three years, they are on a mission. This is very special for them."
Balanced attack
The Tigers had a balanced scoring attack, with five players reaching double figures.
Leading the way were Janine McDonald and Katie Kelly with 14 points apiece, while Brittany Csatlos finished with 13. Cara Dolci added 12 and Aryn Christman chipped in with 10.
"We try to spread it around," said Sarazen. "Brittany was our big scorer for two of the past three years, but this year, she has become our point guard and she has done an outstanding job of running the team. Her point totals have gone down a lot, but she has done an excellent job of distributing the ball to her teammates. She has over 100 steals and 130 assists so she has picked up the other parts of her game this year."
Sarazen was also happy with his team's defense.
"We have been averaging only giving up 31 points a game for the whole year, but I guess when you get to this level of play, that number is going to go up a little," said Sarazen. "We stress defense every day and about half of our practice time is devoted to playing defense and it is paying off for us."
For Iroquois (17-9), Nicole Wilson led all scorers with 25 points and Caryn Krahe added 10.