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South Range leads entire way, advances in D3 tournament
By Jim Flick
MINERAL RIDGE
South Range never trailed in its game against Newton Falls on Saturday night, and advanced to the semi-finals of the Division III tournament with a 53-40 victory.
The Raiders (20-2) will play Champion on March 3 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The Golden Flashes (18-5) qualified by defeating Garrettville Garfield.
The Tigers (19-3) trailed 11-7 after the first quarter, 21-19 at halftime, and 30-24 after three quarters. But Newton Falls surged back in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers pulled to within a point of the Raiders, 39-38 with about two and a half minutes remaining when freshman Brooke Barrecca sank a field goal.
But in the game’s closing minutes, South Range outscored Newton Falls 12-1.
Senior Emily Sieman tallied six points for the Raiders in the final minutes, while senior Gabrielle Naples sank two field goals and senior Samantha Smith added three free throws.
Sieman was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points, and also snagged a dozen rebounds. Naples tallied nine points on the night, while senior Tabitha Jones contributed seven points.
For Newton Fall, senior Jen Bjelac led the way, scoring 14 points. Senior Destiny Prusky spurred the Tigers’ second-half comeback by sinking four field goals after halftime, and totaled eight points for the game. Rachel Ellis, a junior, and Barrecca each scored sixth points for the Tiger.
“We hit some big shots down the stretch,” said South Range coach Wayne Johnson. “We started playing defense and got some transition, and got some good looks and knocked down some shots.”
Johnson commended Sieman’s play on the night, saying, “She definitely was the difference tonight. She does what it takes. She’s got a lot of heart.”
The Raiders’ coach added that Sieman “played great. She played good and solid inside. She’s a post player in a guard’s body, and she just played hard.”
The game “was everything we expected and more,” said Newton Fall coach Mark Baker. “We knew it was going to be a back and forth battle the entire way.”
Baker commended the efforts of his squad, which continued battling away in the final minutes.
“I’ve got to hand it to this group of kids. It’s been a special group of kids all year long,” he said. “They’ve got will and heart to strive day after day, game after game.”
The game was hard-fought battle, Baker added. “It’s tough to see either team lose in that situation.”
Both Bjelac and Prusky “stepped it up in the second half,” the Newton Falls coach said.
“That’s a very special group of kids to me,” Baker said, referring to the team. “I’ve had those kids in class. They’ve been with me since they were in the seventh grade.”
Sieman keyed the Raiders’ early lead, scoring 12 points in the first half. Bjelac countered with 11 first-half points for the Tigers.
Thursday’s South Range-Champion game will be a rematch of two teams that squared off in last year’s playoff. The Raiders narrowly defeated the Golden Flashes in the playoffs a year ago.