KINSMAN —
The Grand Valley Mustangs and Badger Braves are about as evenly matched a set of teams in the Northeastern Athletic Conference as can be.
Teamwork is the key for both, but in a role reversal from the last four seasons, when the Braves had superstar scorer Sarah Bonar to provide clutch points, GV hasn’t had that luxury.
This season, the Mustangs have Jess Vormelker, and the sophomore guard helped her team overcome a slow first period and equally rough fourth quarter with a barrage of baskets in rapid succession in the second and third periods to lift the Mustangs to a sloppy, but thrilling 53-51 NAC win over the Braves.
Ten first period turnovers and 17 more in the fourth had the Mustangs on the ropes. Vormelker nailed four shots in a row late in the second quarter to spark the GV (3-0, 1-0) attack that led to a precarious 31-28 halftime edge.
Trailing 18-11 with 4:47 left in the second quarter, Chris Futty put home two buckets and the front end of a one and one free throw spot. Vormelker then nailed a 3-pointer with 3:06 left, another 23 seconds later to put GV up, 22-19, and then made a layup, two free shots, and a short jumper in the lane to put the Mustangs up for good at 28-26.
“We had way too many turnovers tonight,” a relieved GV coach Kim Triskett said. “I told the girls to just remain strong and keep working hard, and once we were in the lead, we really had to fight to keep it. The girls got the job done.”
Vormelker ended up with 29 points and 15 rebounds in the contest and Futty added 13 to account for the bulk of the Mustang points. Defense proved to be a big item in winning the contest for GV, especially late in the game.
After Vormelker drained another quartet of shots leading off the third period to push her team to a double digit lead after three periods of play, the Braves picked up their pressure.
GV got into foul trouble and the Mustangs were saved by their own tight defense and the inability of Badger (1-4, 0-2) to hit shots.
“I think Vormelker nailed us for like 12 points in the second quarter and another 10 in the third,” Badger coach Dusty Karr said. “We knew coming in that she could hit shots from as far as 25 feet out, we practiced for it, and she still nailed them. We shot poorly tonight. When you go something close to 10 for 32 (actually 14 of 32) from the line and lose by just two, it’s easy to see how you can lose a game.”
With scrums aplenty in the fourth quarter, 17 GV turnovers made for a horse race back and forth. Badger had its chances to get back, and finally worked the score to the final outcome as Holly Masters hit the second of a two shot opportunity with 1:05 left to play.
Nine loose balls later, GV controlled a loose ball after two missed Braves free throws, and the final horn sounded.
Badger had a trio of players in double digits. Sophomore post Harlee Logan tallied 17 to go with 10 rebounds and a steal. She also blocked a pair. Masters and Taylor Kramar each added 11.
The Mustangs came out on top in spite of the turnovers, which totaled 39. They slowly established control of the boards, winning that battle 54-41 behind Vormelker and Futty, who snared 10. Eight of those came on the offensive end of the floor.
One factor that doesn’t show up in the numbers was the inside pressure from Holly and Brady Nye, and pressure on top from the Mustang guards. Kelly Preske and Chelsea Stehlik were like gnats at an August picnic at Lake Shore Park.
“We made some adjustments at halftime,” Triskett said, “and we worked really hard to try to keep the ball out of the paint. We got into some foul trouble, so we had to play some younger kids a bit earlier than we wanted, but they did a nice job and we got the win.”
“When we fell behind in double digits in the third period,” Karr said, “the girls could have packed it in. We had four sophomores and a junior on the floor most of the fourth period, so we’re a bit young, but our effort was superb, and that’s all I can ask for.”
Kelly is a freelance writer from Jefferson.
Sports
Mustangs sneak past Braves
Vormelker leads GV to NAC road win
- Sports
-
-
Geneva, Edgewood win in J-Town
The Geneva boys and Edgewood girls managed to amass just enough points to claim the team titles at the Falcon Night Relays on Friday at Falcon Pride Stadium.
-
Johnson: Browns will be better
Football fans of every age gathered Friday evening to converse with Cleveland Browns linebacker James-Michael Johnson.
-
Skleres finds good fit
There are two very different sides to Michealia Skleres and the Pymatuning Valley senior wasn’t ready to go one direction or the other just yet. She may never be ready to separate those two halves.
-
Lakers ousted by LaBrae
Though the LaBrae softball team fell short of one goal this season, another was achieved on Friday.
-
Scholastic Statistics:
BASEBALL
DIVISION I
SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Fitch 10, Lakeside 1
at Fitch -
Scholastic Schedule:
SATURDAY, MAY 18
Baseball
n No events scheduled -
Top to bottom
For a team to score a number of runs in a softball game, the bottom portion of a lineup has to string a couple of hits together at least once.
-
Falcons fly to sectional title
Lake Catholic softball coach Dale Colagross had the option of a potential battle with rival Notre-Dame Cathedral Latin, the top-seeded team in the Division II district tournament, or a potential matchup with third-seeded Jefferson in a sectional championship game in the other half of the bracket.
-
Area High School Baseball Statistical Leaders:
INDIVIDUAL BATTING (minimum 45 at-bats)
PLAYER SCHOOL AVG OB% SLG% AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB
Chase Thurber PV .548 .642 .790 62 24 34 10 1 1 25 13
Tim Cross PV .492 .528 .667 63 24 31 9 1 0 25 12
Louie Wisnyai Edgewood .492 .559 .763 59 17 29 8 1 2 26 8
Tony Magda Edgewood .483 .552 .603 58 14 28 5 1 0 19 6
Joey Piscsalko Jefferson .471 .548 .571 70 23 33 7 0 0 19 14
Scott Davidson Jefferson .464 .519 .623 69 20 32 7 2 0 10 8 -
Lakeside rolls past East
One of the great lessons in sports competitions is to play with the maximum effort in utilizing your own skills and talents. It’s a lot easier said than done, but the Lakeside Dragons got a full dose of it Thursday afternoon as they tangled with a youthful and inexperienced group of Panthers from Youngstown East in a Division I sectional semifinal ballgame. The Dragons came out on top, 12-0.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Geneva, Edgewood win in J-Town
