Poland holds off Girard in conference tilt
McDonald, Cougras score 13 points apiece to lead the Bulldogs to senior night win, 63-52
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POLAND - Usually coaches don't like to lose games. But sometimes those losses can be a big focus grabber for a team.
The Poland girls' basketball team bounced back from a disappointing loss to their rivals from Struthers last week with a solid 63-52 win over the Girard Indians on senior night. The victory keeps the Bulldogs on top of the standing in the Northeast-8 conference.
"This game was really important, especially having gone a while without playing, a full week. So, we wanted to bounce back especially with it being senior night. Abby (Farber), Morgan (Kluchar), and I took a lot of pride in it and took care of business," Bulldogs senior guard Connie Cougras said.
Overall, the Bulldogs sport a 14-2 record, and 10-1 in the league. With the loss, the Indians drop to 9-7, 4-7 in the conference standings.
"The first time we played them there was a running clock," Indians coach Andrew Saxon remarked. "So, we lost pretty badly. We couldn't handle the pressure and the traps. But tonight, I think we did a nice job. I'm pleased with our performance and going into the tournament; we can probably play with anybody as long as we put the ball in the hoop."
Overcoming the loss and the distractions of celebrating senior night, the Dogs jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead before the Indians were able to get on the scoreboard with 4:34 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs went on to carry a 17-9 lead at the close of the first period.
But the Indians fought the Dog's tooth and nail in the second stanza as they cut the deficit down to 5 with just 17-second before the intermission when Indians junior guard Abbie Rafferty hit a jumper to make it 26-21. A last-second foul shot by the Bulldogs Morgan Kluchar made it 27-21 going into halftime.
However, the Bulldogs took control of the contest to start the second half as Katie McDonald put a rebound back in for a bucket followed by a three by Mary Blunt at the 6:21 mark to push the Dogs out to a quick 11-point, 32-21 advantage. Following two free throws by Kluchar at the 4:29 mark, the Bulldogs had increased their lead to 15 at 40-25. They would eventually hold a 46-30 lead by the end of the third period.
"We wanted to come out and be ourselves," Cougras said of their second-half mindset. "We wanted to do what we could to start the second half and to get things going. We needed them (Katie and Mary) to come out hot and they did right there."
The Bulldogs would build their advantage to a game-high 22-points at 54-32 at the 6:36 mark of the fourth quarter following a three by Cougras. But the Indians kept battling to the end as they finished the game with a 20-9 run to reach the final 11-point margin.
"The girls never quit. They played hard. We just couldn't, at certain times, make a basket," Saxon said. "Free throw shots were missed. We missed some easy shots. If you take that away, we have a chance to win the game."
The Bulldogs will attempt to stay on top of the NE-8 Monday night when they play at Lakeview in their next contest. The Indians also play on Monday night when they host the Niles Red Dragons.