Lady Falcons鈥� pressure leads to 42-37 win over Uniontown
CONNELLSVILLE 鈥� Both Uniontown and Connellsville were looking to extend their respective winning streak to a modest two games when the Fayette County rivals met Monday night at Connellsville.
The Lady Falcons turned up the pressure in the third quarter and then held off a late surge for a 42-37 victory over the visiting Lady Raiders.
Connellsville (2-0) came out with full-court pressure after the halftime break and it paid dividends with the home team outscoring the Lady Raiders, 18-2, for a 34-18 advantage.
鈥淲e changed a little bit on the press at halftime. We saw a weakness and were able to exploit it,鈥� said Connellsville first-year coach Eric Painter. 鈥淭he press seems to get our juices going.鈥�
Uniontown was coming off a win against Bentworth in the Falcon Fest Tournament, but was unable to handle the upped pressure in the third quarter.
鈥淲e found a way to beat the press, but we didn鈥檛 make the shots,鈥� said Uniontown coach Penny Kezmarsky. 鈥淭hey came out and outscored us 7-0 in the first minute (of the second half).鈥�
The Lady Raiders (1-2) were able to make shots in the fourth quarter and put a scare into the home team. Uniontown was one possession away a few times, but was unable to capitalize with Connellsville hanging on for the victory.
鈥淭urnovers, that鈥檚 something we need to work on. We had too many turnovers. We almost beat ourselves,鈥� said Painter.
Kezmarsky noted the lack of offensive rebounding by her squad.
鈥淲e were one and done on offense.鈥� said Kezmarsky.
Uniontown led 12-7 after the first quarter and held the lead until 2:52 to go in the half when Connellsville pulled ahead, 15-14. The teams were tied at halftime, 16-16.
The game almost had as many held balls in the first half as points. Coupled with a number of foul calls, the game featured more whistles than points scored.
鈥淚t was a sloppy game. Neither team could catch a flow,鈥� said Kezmarsky.
How foul shots are doled out on non-shooting infractions was altered this season with teams in the bonus after five fouls committed in the quarter. The bonus is two shots after that point, not the former rule with a one-and-one until 10 fouls were reached in the half.
鈥淭he two foul shots hurt us,鈥� said Kezmarsky.
The Lady Falcons鈥� Elizabeth Painter benefited from bonus free throws converting 8-of-18 attempts to finish with a team-high 13 points. Maggie Orndorff and Bailey Liska both scored eight points.
The Lady Raiders鈥� Geeleece Ingram led all scorers with 16 points. A鈥檏ira Dade finished with eight points.