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A different team

Ridge tops Crestview, surpasses last year’s win total

Tribune Chronicle / Eric Murray Mineral Ridge defenders Naveah Cruz (1) and Taryn Kolesar (fighting through pick) work together as Crestview’s Brenna Auer tries to drive Monday night at Mineral Ridge. The Rams defeated the Rebels, 50-38, for their third victory of the season.

MINERAL RIDGE — First-year Mineral Ridge girls basketball coach Matt Cluse wants everybody to know that this year’s team isn’t last year’s team. Through three games this season that has become quite obvious, as his Rams are 3-0, already exceeding last year’s two-win season.

On Monday night, the Rams hosted the Crestview Rebels, and were able to erase a 12-point deficit to a team they lost to by more than 20 points a season ago. A furious fourth quarter rally, which included 23 Mineral Ridge points, propelled the Rams to a 50-38 victory.

“We’re not used to winning, they won two games last year. They’ve gotta learn how to win. Tonight was the first step that we actually learned how to win,” Cluse said. “Getting down by (12) and it didn’t faze them. We just knew we had a chance to stay in the game, big girls stepped up big in big spots, and I couldn’t be more proud. That’s a big win for us, that’s a big win for Ridge.”

After a back-and-forth first half, which saw four lead changes and ultimately an 18-18 halftime tie, two big second-half runs ultimately defined the game. To start the second half, the Rebels took control first.

Alexis Gates, who led the way with nine first-half points, took over in the third quarter. Gates hit a free throw, a 3-pointer and a layup-and-1 to score seven quick points in the first 2:23 of the quarter.

Tribune Chronicle / Eric Murray Angelique Bartscher of Mineral Ridge brings the ball up the floor in the Rams’ win over Crestview.

Crestview (2-2) then had a layup from Sydni Bowker and a free throw by Emily Ferris to give the Rebels a 10-0 run to start the half. Eventually, a long jump shot from Gates and a fastbreak layup from Bowker extended the run to 14-2 with 3:37 left in the third, giving Crestview a 32-20 lead.

However, Gates was soon charged with her fourth foul and the Rams began a run of their own. Taryn Kolesar made a layup-and-1, followed by a Noelle Bukovina putback. Kolesar’s fastbreak layup with 11 seconds left in the third period cut the deficit to seven, 34-27, entering the fourth quarter.

Mineral Ridge picked up where it left off to begin the fourth, thanks to a Neveah Cruz jumper, two Kolesar free throws, and an Alexa Harkins steal and layup. A Kolesar layup off of a miss put the Rams ahead, 35-34, with 5:37 remaining.

Ahead 41-36, the Rams’ young freshman phenom Harkins took over the rest of the way. Harkins, who had nine points in the first half but was scoreless in the third quarter, scored 11 fourth-quarter points, including a pair of layups and three free throws in the final 1:15 of the game.

Harkins, who finished with 20 points, recently scored 42 points in a win over Wellsville last week.

“We went into it thinking we had the win,” Harkins said of Crestview. “We kind of eased down and then we realized they were gonna beat us and they kept shooting outside shots, so we finally stepped up our game. Once we got on a roll, we were good.”

For Crestview, after going on a 14-2 run in the third, it was outscored, 30-6, the rest of the way. Gates spent a good portion of the third and fourth quarters on the bench, and after scoring 18 points midway through the third quarter, she had just two the rest of the way.

Mineral Ridge forced seven turnovers over the final stretch of the game, including five in the fourth quarter. The Rams, who return just three seniors and a junior, have already developed a knack for winning, thanks to a combination of its experienced veterans and a number of young players, including Harkins.

“We got some young girls that are ready to play, they’re ready to step in, like Harkins. We got some girls that are ready to play, they’re young and they’re doing their job,” Kluse said. “We’re not the same team we were last year, this is a more powerful team. If people think we’re just gonna sit outside around the 3-point line, they haven’t seen us play yet.”

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