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United serves notice in ITCL girls opener
The Golden Eagles beat defending league champion South Range.
NORTH LIMA — United High’s senior guard, Maggie Sell, had revenge on her mind when she walked into the South Range gymnasium Thursday night.
Sell scored a game-high 18 points, including nine in the fourth quarter to help lead the Eagles to an impressive 58-43 win over the defending Inter-Tri County Tier 1 champion Raiders.
“We were talking about this game all week,” Sell said. “[South Range] beat us twice last year.
“This was nice so that we could start out well in the ITCL.”
The teams staged a furious up-tempo game that was tied at 39 after three quarters before the Eagles pulled away with a 19-4 fourth quarter effort.
“I think our pressure wore them down,” said United coach Roger Zeigler. “I think we executed better down the stretch offensively.
“They are a well-coached team and both teams played hard. It was just a battle all night long.”
South Range scored the first two points of the fourth quarter on a basket by Samantha Smith but then it was all United.
United (3-1, 1-0) scored the next seven points on baskets or free throws by Sell and senior Maggie Sell before the Raiders’ Abby Schuler scored to make the score 48-43 with four minutes left in the game.
Miller finished with 10 points.
The Eagles then scored the final 10 points of the game to seal the win.
United made 19-of-27 free throws and 9-of-14 in the final quarter.
“Once we got ahead, we were able to take care of the basketball,” Zeigler said. “That forced them to foul us and we did a nice job at the line.”
During the first three quarters, pressure by both teams caused numerous turnovers.
South Range turned the ball over 29 times while United coughed it up 24 times.
“It was a physical contest,” Sell said. “We try to wear teams down with our pressure and try to take over in the fourth quarter.
“That’s what happened tonight.”
“They put us in a bad situation,” said South Range coach Matt Reel. “Their two senior guards [Sell and Miller] stepped it up in the fourth quarter and it was a growing experience for our young girls.”
South Range opened the game with some balanced scoring with great backside passing and led the Eagles 12-9 after one quarter.
The Eagles battled back with a strong second quarter to open up a 29-21 lead at the break but South Range came back to knot the score at 39 after three quarters.
The Raiders (3-1, 0-1) have only one senior this season and graduated one of the top players [Amber Carter] in the area last year. South Range features a lineup that includes six sophomores.
“Our kids are learning how to handle the pressure,” Reel said. “I hope we will be a competitor in the league and I still think we can be.”
The Raiders were led in scoring by Schuler, a junior who tallied 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Senior Alicia Withers added eight points.