DUKE CENTER — It’s not often that a JV game perfectly foreshadows what’s to come for the rest of the night, but that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday.
After the intense undercard went to double overtime, the main event between two of the area’s top teams certainly kept things rolling.
After a wild fourth quarter that saw plenty of lead changes, Kane edged Otto-Eldred 55-51, to hand the Lady Terrors their first loss of the season.
Kane led the game the entire way, and had 10-point leads after both halftime and the third quarter. In the final frame, however, Otto hit three three-pointers and clamped down on the defensive end.
The Terrors hit the first nine points of the quarter, and took the lead with just a few minutes to play.
After the teams traded buckets on consecutive possessions, Hannah Buhl hit both of her free-throw attempts to give the Lady Wolves a 52-51 lead. Kane played lockdown defense from there on out, and hit their remaining chances from the charity stripe to pull off a thrilling victory.
“We felt we were the underdog and that we had something to prove,” Kane head coach Dave Kiehl said. “It was a good game, we just have to finish stronger. But give them credit. They came back there and hit some big threes. That was big for them and that’s what it takes. But my girls gathered together and pulled it out and hit some big foul shots.”
Kane didn’t seem phased by Otto’s 14-0 record coming in, as the Wolves stormed ahead to a 10-2 lead in the game’s opening minutes. It was a team effort for Kane, as well, as those 10 points came from four different scorers.
Once the Terrors settled in on their home court, the game got much tighter and much more physical. Each team was whistled for 15 fouls, and most of the game was played in the paint.
The matchup of the night centered on the game’s two tallest girls. Kane’s Ella Marconi finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Otto’s Camryn Thomas had 16 points, and drew plenty of defenders as she made 10 trips to the free-throw line. Each team’s game plan certainly centered on each of those girls on both ends of the court.
“Ella is tough,” Kiehl said. “She gets a lot of attention and it makes it tough on her, but she’s done well. The one that thrives with that is Rachael Morgan. Most teams don’t have what we have in the inside game to matchup with us.”
Morgan was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points, in addition to her 14 rebounds. And while most of the attention was focused on her teammate, as Kiehl noted, she was able to get favorable matchups against some undersized Otto defenders.
“Camryn came out and played well like she always does,” Otto-Eldred head coach Barb Close siad. “We had other girls that came in to help her control Marconi and I thought Morgan did a nice job on the backside. We knew that was going to be an issue because she boxes out. We are a team that needs to learn to box out better and that’s something we have talked about over and over.”
Kane’s (13-1) win comes during a stretch of five straight games on the road for the Wolves. Although it has posed some challenges, Kiehl’s group has yet to have it impact their play on the court.
“I’ve got 10 kids that play solid and who give me good minutes,” Kieh said. “This is a challenging time of year for us but we want to play the toughest competition. Our only loss is to North Clarion and they are undefeated. My goal every year is to play the best and to be the best that we can.”
As for Otto (14-1), Wednesday’s game marked the third in as many nights for the Terrors. Although it would be easy to assume the team would have some fatigue as the game wore on, Otto’s best play of the entire night came in the game’s final minutes. Even though their unbeaten run came to an end, Close hopes that the result can be a learning experience for her team.
“We have actually been waiting for competition like this,” Close said. “This is one that we would call a character building game. This is the kind of game we have been striving for. When we went to Johnsonburg the other night it was the first team that really showed us any kind of press, and that was good. We needed that. And we needed this to keep going on the rest of the season.”
Close and the Terrors now turn their attention to Saturday’s matchup against Coudersport. The game features the last two remaining undefeated teams in the North Tier League, and the result of the game could have a very big impact on determining league champion in just a few weeks time. The Lady Falcons had several players in attendance at Wednesday’s Kane-Otto matchup, getting a look to scout Otto for themselves.
“They’re ready, we are ready,” Close said. “Ready for a big matchup. We get excited about stuff like that and so do they. I think we are going to be prepared more mentally than in years past. We are ready, bring it.”
AT DUKE CENTER
Kane (55)
Rachael Morgan 6 6-10 18, Ella Marconi 7 2-2 16, Clark 4 1-2 11, O’Hara 2 1-2 6, Buhl 1 2-3 4. Totals: 20 12-19 55
Otto-Eldred (51)
Camryn Thomas 4 8-10 16, Jadelyn Spinney 5 1-2 13, E. Smith 3 0-0 8, A.Cousins 2 2-2 7, Greeley 2 2-2 6, Shelander 0 1-2 1. Totals: 16 14-20 51
Kane 19 30 40 55
O-E 11 20 30 51
Three-point goals: O-E 5 (Spinney 2, E. Smith 2, A. Cousins 1), Kane 3 (Clark 2, O’Hara 1); Total fouls: Kane 15, O-E 15; fouled out: none
JV: Otto won 38-33 (Double OT)
