Sharon's quick start sets pace for 48-33 victory over Girard

The Tigers advance to the district title game against Lakeview.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
EDINBORO -- Fast starts are nothing new to the Sharon High girls basketball team. The Tigers have been thriving on quick starts all season long.
Wednesday at Edinboro University, the Tigers again got out of the gate at a fast pace on their way to defeating the Girard Yellow Jackets, 48-33, in District 10 Class AA semifinal action.
"That has been our trait this season, to get out of the blocks as quick as we can," Sharon coach Gene Sarazen said. "We like to get off the bus and get ready to play as quickly as we can and that is what we did tonight.
"We were able to get a good start and a lot of that was due to our kids playing well defensively," Sarazen said. "We try to sell them on playing good defense and when you hold a team to single digits in three of the four periods at this level of play, that is good defense."
The Tigers asserted themselves from the opening tip on both ends of the floor as they scored the first six points of the game and 13 of the first 16.
While all that was going on, the Tigers were holding Girard to single digits as Sharon took a 16-8 lead after one quarter of play.
Cruises to early lead
The Tigers maintained their momentum into the second period as they scored the first six points of the period to open a 22-8 lead.
Although Sharon only scored nine points during the period, they held Girard to just four points for a 25-12 advantage at halftime.
"Girard gave us some problems on the offense end and as a result, we only scored nine points in that second period," Sarazen said. "We don't see too much man defense and this is only the fifth time this year we have had to go against a man-for-man look.
"We tried to prepare for it all week, but sometimes we just get a little sluggish.
"Another thing we do is sell ourselves out on defense sometimes, and as a result, we don't execute as well as we might on the offensive end."
Leading by 13 at the break, the Tigers kept the pedal to the floor as they scored eight of the first nine points of the third period to open their biggest lead of the game at 33-13.
Girard battles back
Still trailing by 16 at the end of three periods, the Yellow Jackets cut their deficit to 11 at 37-26 Sharon before the Tigers pulled away down the stretch to win by the 15-point margin.
"I think the kids got a little tired during that stretch when they cut into our lead," Sarazen said. "I am trying to sub and get people in and out, and we are all juniors except one senior so hopefully we are learning some good lessons.
"Hopefully some of these young kids will grow up and help us as we go along the way."
Trio paces attack
On offense, the Tigers were led by three scorers each with a dozen points as Brittany Csatlos, Cara Dolci and Janine McDonald each netted 12 points.
For Girard, Stephanie Mathews tied for game honors with 12 points, Courtney also hitting doubles with 10 points.
The Tigers will face Lakeview for the district crown, the Sailors earning their berth in the finals with a 52-44 victory over the Eisenhower Knights in the first game of the twinbill. The day, time and site for the championship game will be determined by District 10 officials.