Lady Hornets top Warrior Run in District playoffs

By: Ed Weaver  /  February 19, 2013

For the first time in a long time, the Wellsboro Lady Hornets advanced in District 4 basketball playoffs as they defeated Warrior Run Tuesday night, 42-31 at Montoursville. The win was the Lady Hornets first District win since the 2003-04 season after finishing second to Line Mountain and advancing to the state playoffs.

The play-in game to face top seed Mt. Carmel started off in favor of the Lady Hornets as they held a 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Warrior Run battled back to tie the game at 17-17 going into the half.

The Lady Hornets switched things up defensively in the second half, and were able to hold Lady Defenders to 14 total points. They also managed to shut down Warrior Run stand out player Step Shamburg and hold her to 15 points for the contest.

"It was our goal at the beginning of the season to not only make it to Districts but to win in Districts," said head coach Mary Grab. "The girls were intense and were ready to play and the whole team supported each other and we couldn't have won without everyone who played tonight.

"This win was huge for us. We were hanging on by a thread on even reaching Districts so to come out and play like we did tonight, it just means a tremendous amount to me," concluded Grab.

The win wasn't without adversity though, as Senior Guard Mackenzie Marple was battling flu-like symptoms during the entire game.

"With Mackenzie it is hard to keep her off the court and she really wanted to play tonight," stated Grab. "The team just did a wonderful job tonight as players who normally don't have to step up in these situatuions do so tonight."

Even though she wasn't feeling 100%, Marple still led the Lady Hornets with 11 points, hitting 3 two-point shots along with shooting 5-9 from the foul line. She now sits at 971 career points (391 for the year).

"It was a rough day and I felt absolutely terrible but I just wanted to play so tonight," Marple said. "The win feels wonderful, it's something that hasn't been done in a long time so to do that just feels awesome."

Freshman Sarah Ingerick also scored in double figures on the night with 10 points.

"It feels great to be out on the court with this group of Seniors," Ingerick said. "We're going to come into the next game focused and determined to keep our season going."

Rounding out the scoring for the Hornets were Freshman Jada Jackson with 9 points, Senior Hannah Zuchowski with 10, and Senior Kimberly Acorn with 4.

With the win, the Lady Hornets improve their record to 12-11 and will now face top seed Mt. Carmel.