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Tri-Village
senior. Elizabeth Collins cuts a piece of the net Satruday
after the Lady Patriots won the district title over Yellow Springs,
55-31 to advane to the regional semifinals. CNO photos by Shannon Barga
and George Starks
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Lady
Patriots run over Bulldogs
T-V wins
district title
By George Starks
TIPP CITY- “We still have work to do.”
Tri-Village senior Elizabeth Collins said it all and then said, “We
have unfinished business to attend to.”
When tournament time comes along, no knows better than Patriots coach
Brad Gray knows you have to take it one game at a time.
The beat rolled on for Tri-Village Saturday as senior Teha Richards
scored a game high 27 as the Patriots dropped a 55-31 loss on
Versailles native Tim Barga and his Yellow Springs Lady Bulldogs.
Holding a 15-6 lead after one, the Patriots found the going rough in
the second eight minutes as the Bulldogs outscored the Patriots, 9-5 in
the frame, holding a slim 20-15 lead at the break as the Patriots
couldn’t buy a basket in the quarter.
“We are district champs but for the first 16 minutes, I wasn’t sure how
things were going to turn out,” said Grey. “We got things going in the
second half and things got much better. We were not very good in the
second quarter but give our kids credit, they persevered in the second
quarter. ”
When the third quarter started, the Patriots got it going, getting
things started with a 15-0 run to take a commanding 35-15 lead with
just over four minutes left in the stanza.
Despite the efforts of Yellow Springs senior, Maryah Martin, who
connected for three treys closing the gap to 35-24, the Patriots held a
39-24 lead with eight minutes left to play.
“We came out with a lot of want to in the second half,” said Gray. “We
kind of let them back into it again but then we got it going again.”
The third quarter proved to be more than the Bulldogs could deal with
as the Patriots held their opposition to just seven points in the frame.
It would be a day when Richards would take control when it was crunch
time.
“She likes to get out and run,” said Grey. “We were making the plays
defensively and were able to get the ball out ahead of her, especially
in the third quarter. She hit a couple of midrange jumpers but our jump
shot has got to start falling. It’s getting to be that time of year
when we have to find a way to knock them down. Last year, we were able
to do that at this stage of the game so it’s very important that we
find our shots.”
During the course of the season, the Patriots press has more than done
the job against the opposition.
Saturday, that press created 23 Bulldog turnovers, leading to 16 points
in transition.
“Our press was good at times and then there were times when it created
offense for them,” Grey pointed out. “The one thing you don’t want to
do is create offense for the other team. I think we created more
offense for ourselves but at the same time, we created too much offense
for them.”
In support of Richards, senior Shaye Thomas knocked down 14 points.
The victory puts the Patriots into the regionals at Tipp City against
Mechanicsburg Wednesday, starting at 7 p.m.
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Teha
Richards goes up for two of her game high 27 in the Patriots
victory over the Bulldogs.
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Heather
Ferris looks to score as Yellow Springs junior Kennedy
Harshaw tries thw swat the ball away.
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Yellow
Springs coach Tim Barga gives last minute instructions to
his team befotre the start of the the district game Saturday with
Tri-Village. The Versailles native and former Lady Tigers coach has
turned around a struggling program.
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