Oxford rallies for Pennysaver title
NORWICH – Oxford wanted to use its matchup with Greene Saturday night as a measuring stick. After four quarters of action, the Blackhawks definitely grew in stature and confidence.
“I think most people, including myself, picked Greene as the favorite in the Midstate Athletic Conference,” said Oxford coach Brad Aldrich. “I think this tells us we can play with the better teams in the area.”
One night after surviving a narrow win over Norwich, the Blackhawks overcame a 10-point deficit in the third quarter to win the 27th Annual Norwich Pennysaver Tournament, 50-42. It was the third Pennysaver title in five years for Oxford. “It was a great game and our kids played hard to the end,” said Trojans longtime coach Bill Case. “We’ll see how this (loss) affects us.”
The Trojans had plenty of chances to put the Blackhawks away early. Oxford struggled against Greene’s full-court pressure, and struggled even more on the defensive boards. The Trojans pulled down 18 offensive rebounds in the first half, yet could not shake the scrappy Blackhawks, who trailed by a 26-21 count at halftime.
Megan McDermott scored 11 of her game-high 16 points in the first half, and was perhaps the biggest thorn in Oxford’s side with several offensive rebounds. “We talked at halftime about our bigger kids doing a better job of boxing out,” Aldrich said. “We were able to do that, and our outside people also did a good job. It was a good team effort, and that kind of sparked our entire defense.”
Even though Oxford was rebounding better, it was not making a dent in the scoreboard. Despite leading scorer Barb Borst sitting the entire third quarter with foul trouble, Greene extended a five-point halftime lead to 38-28 with 2:54 left in the third quarter. Erin Smith hit a running jumper in the lane, Abigail Wentlent nailed a spot-up 18-footer, and Lizzy Buhl scored on an inside move to complete a 6-0 spurt and put Greene in command.
Tournament MVP, Chantel Crandall of Oxford, kick-started her team’s comeback when she took a skip pass from Felicia Tynan and drained a three ball. Haley Witchella got Oxford back within five at the end of the stanza putting back an offensive rebound.
From there, it was all Oxford. Through three quarters, Greene had just seven turnovers, but it doubled that total over the final eight minutes as the Blackhawks’ defensive pressure rose to another level.
Crandall hit a trifecta just moments into the third, and then Crandall drove for a layup to tie the game. Witchella’s free throw at 5:46 put the Blackhawks in front for the first time, and Alyshia Crawford’s lone basket of the contest upped the margin to three.
Greene made one last burst getting a lefty runner from Liz Wentlent and a free throw from Buhl to tie the game with 2:10 left.
Erin Law used a screen from Hollyann Branham to drive for the go-ahead layup, and Branham had a critical putback of an offensive rebound to swing the momentum securely in Oxford’s favor. “They were a little quicker than us defensively, and they boxed out super, that was the biggest difference,” Case said in praising Oxford.
Crandall and Christi Baker had 12 points apiece for Oxford, Branham added 10 points and eight rebounds, and Witchella led Oxford with 11 rebounds.
In the consolation game, Sidney overcame some shaky offense in the second half against the Tornado’s aggressive defense to win the consolation game by four points.
Danielle Gravel had five of her seven points in the fourth quarter, and Norwich missed four open three balls in the final three minutes to tie or take the lead.
The Warriors grabbed the lead midway through the first quarter scoring eight straight points – six from leading scoring Brittany Schunk (10 points) – to lead 14-10 at the first turn.
The lead grew to as many as nine in the second quarter, and Sidney did not trail the rest of the way.
Emily Tackabury had nine points to pace Norwich.
Greene started the fourth quarter on a 16-2 run to put the Warriors away in the opening game of the tournament.
Erin Smith scored all six of her points in the last quarter and Barb Borst hit a pair of baskets for the Trojans. “We consistently held them to one shot and we were able to get our fast break going in the fourth quarter,” Case said. “When you hold a team to one shot, eventually good things are going to happen.”
McDermott led the Trojans with 12 points and Borst added 11.
In Friday’s second game, Oxford sophomore Chelsea Farrell came off the bench to score eight straight points in the second quarter, three off assists from Hollyann Branham, to turn a five-point Norwich lead into a three-point Blackhawks advantage.
Norwich regained the lead after three periods, and had several opportunities to take command of the contest, but were hurt by 6-for-24 foul shooting (25 percent) on the night. Oxford did not fare much better from the foul line connecting on 9-for-29.
The Tornado had an opportunity to force overtime when, freshman Boyan Cox was fouled at the buzzer. Down by two points, Cox missed the front end of the free throws to end the contest.
Farrell had a season-high 13 points to lead Oxford and Crandall added a season-best 12 in the victory.
Cox scored 10 to lead Norwich (0-3).
Championship Game
Oxford 50, Greene 42
Greene: Barb Borst, 1 3-6-5; Tara Bub, 0; Abby Wentlent, 2 1-2-5; Erin Smith, 2 0-2-4; Megan McDermott, 6 4-7-16; Lizzy Buhl, 1 3-4-5; Liz Wentlent, 1 3-8-5; Megan Kinne, 0; Amanda Burnett, 1 0-0-2. Totals: 14 14-29-42.
Oxford: Alyshia Crawford, 1 0-0-2; Christi Baker, 3 6-9-12; Chantel Crandall, 5 0-2-12; Chelsea Farrell, 0; Jenna Farwell, 0; Hollyann Branham, 3 4-5-10; Felicia Tynan, 1 0-2-2; Haley Witchella, 2 2-4-6; Erin Law , 2 2-3-6. Totals: 17 14-25-50.
Gre. 14 12 13 3–42
Oxf. 11 10 13 16–50
Fouled out: (G) Borst. Three-point goals: (O) Crandall 2. JV Championship: Norwich beat Greene. Officials: Cicciarelli, Berg.
Consolation Game
Sidney 36, Norwich 32
NHS: Tatyana Ithier, 1 0-1-2; M. Testani, 0 1-4-1; K. Collier, 2 2-3-6; C. Griffin, 0; Emily Tackabury, 3 3-4-9; Boyan Cox, 4 0-2-8; Chelsea Leibundgut, 0; Claire Sheldon, 0; Brooke Abbott, 2 0-0-5; Bianca Cox, 0; Adrienne Sharp, 0 1-2-1. Totals: 12 7-16-32.
Sidney: Rachael Ward, 0; Brittney Schunk, 5 0-0-10; Nicole Philpott, 4 0-0-8; Chelsea Pixley, 1 0-1-3; Sierra Houck, 1 0-0-2; Danielle Gravel, 3 1-2-7; Alesha Voltz, 0 2-2-2; Kate Philpott, 2 0-0-4; Alecia Clark, 0; Jess Wormsley, 0. Totals: 16 3-5-36
NHS 10 8 7 7–32
Sidn. 14 11 2 9–36
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (N) Abbott, (S) Pixley. Officials: Szelkowski, Davis.
Greene 46, Sidney 28
Sidney: Rachael Ward, 2 0-0-5; Brittney Schunk, 2 0-0-4; Nicole Philpott, 1 0-0-2; Chelsea Pixley, 1 0-0-2; Sierra Houck, 1 2-2-4; Danielle Gravel, 1 2-4-4; Alesha Voltz, 0; Kate Philpott, 2 0-5-4; Alecia Clark, 1 1-2-3; Jess Wormsley, 0. Totals: 11 5-13-28
Greene: Barb Borst, 5 1-3-11; Tara Bub, 1 1-2-3; Abby Wentlent, 0; Erin Smith, 3 0-1-6; Megan McDermott, 4 4-6-12; Lizzy Buhl, 0 3-4-3; Liz Wentlent, 2 3-4-7; Megan Kinne, 2 0-0-4; Amanda Burnett, 0 0-2-0. Totals: 17 12-22-46.
Sidn. 8 7 8 5–28
Gre. 7 11 12 16–46
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (S) Ward, officials: Haynes, Hendrickson.
Oxford 46, Norwich 44
Oxford: Alyshia Crawford, 0 0-4-0; Christi Baker, 0 1-4-1; Chantel Crandell, 4 1-2-12; Chelsea Farrell, 6 1-4-13; Jenna Farwell, 1 2-4-4; Hollyann Branham, 2 2-5-6; Felicia Tynan, 3 1-2-7; Haley Witchella, 1 0-2-2; Erin Law , 0 1-2-1. Totals: 17 9-29-46.
NHS: Tatyana Ithier, 2 1-2-5; M. Testani, 2 0-2-6; K. Collier, 0 0-1-0; C. Griffin, 0 0-1-0; Emily Tackabury, 4 0-2-8; Boyan Cox, 4 2-9-10; Chelsea Leibundgut, 0 0-2-0; Claire Sheldon, 1 0-1-2; Brooke Abbott, 2 0-0-6; Bianca Cox, 1 2-2-4; Adrienne Sharp, 1 1-4-4. Totals: 17 6-24-44.
NHS 9 9 15 11–44
Oxf. 7 11 9 16–46
Three-point goals: (O) Crandall 3, (N) Testani 2, Abbott 2. JV: Norwich won 48-39.
“I think most people, including myself, picked Greene as the favorite in the Midstate Athletic Conference,” said Oxford coach Brad Aldrich. “I think this tells us we can play with the better teams in the area.”
One night after surviving a narrow win over Norwich, the Blackhawks overcame a 10-point deficit in the third quarter to win the 27th Annual Norwich Pennysaver Tournament, 50-42. It was the third Pennysaver title in five years for Oxford. “It was a great game and our kids played hard to the end,” said Trojans longtime coach Bill Case. “We’ll see how this (loss) affects us.”
The Trojans had plenty of chances to put the Blackhawks away early. Oxford struggled against Greene’s full-court pressure, and struggled even more on the defensive boards. The Trojans pulled down 18 offensive rebounds in the first half, yet could not shake the scrappy Blackhawks, who trailed by a 26-21 count at halftime.
Megan McDermott scored 11 of her game-high 16 points in the first half, and was perhaps the biggest thorn in Oxford’s side with several offensive rebounds. “We talked at halftime about our bigger kids doing a better job of boxing out,” Aldrich said. “We were able to do that, and our outside people also did a good job. It was a good team effort, and that kind of sparked our entire defense.”
Even though Oxford was rebounding better, it was not making a dent in the scoreboard. Despite leading scorer Barb Borst sitting the entire third quarter with foul trouble, Greene extended a five-point halftime lead to 38-28 with 2:54 left in the third quarter. Erin Smith hit a running jumper in the lane, Abigail Wentlent nailed a spot-up 18-footer, and Lizzy Buhl scored on an inside move to complete a 6-0 spurt and put Greene in command.
Tournament MVP, Chantel Crandall of Oxford, kick-started her team’s comeback when she took a skip pass from Felicia Tynan and drained a three ball. Haley Witchella got Oxford back within five at the end of the stanza putting back an offensive rebound.
From there, it was all Oxford. Through three quarters, Greene had just seven turnovers, but it doubled that total over the final eight minutes as the Blackhawks’ defensive pressure rose to another level.
Crandall hit a trifecta just moments into the third, and then Crandall drove for a layup to tie the game. Witchella’s free throw at 5:46 put the Blackhawks in front for the first time, and Alyshia Crawford’s lone basket of the contest upped the margin to three.
Greene made one last burst getting a lefty runner from Liz Wentlent and a free throw from Buhl to tie the game with 2:10 left.
Erin Law used a screen from Hollyann Branham to drive for the go-ahead layup, and Branham had a critical putback of an offensive rebound to swing the momentum securely in Oxford’s favor. “They were a little quicker than us defensively, and they boxed out super, that was the biggest difference,” Case said in praising Oxford.
Crandall and Christi Baker had 12 points apiece for Oxford, Branham added 10 points and eight rebounds, and Witchella led Oxford with 11 rebounds.
In the consolation game, Sidney overcame some shaky offense in the second half against the Tornado’s aggressive defense to win the consolation game by four points.
Danielle Gravel had five of her seven points in the fourth quarter, and Norwich missed four open three balls in the final three minutes to tie or take the lead.
The Warriors grabbed the lead midway through the first quarter scoring eight straight points – six from leading scoring Brittany Schunk (10 points) – to lead 14-10 at the first turn.
The lead grew to as many as nine in the second quarter, and Sidney did not trail the rest of the way.
Emily Tackabury had nine points to pace Norwich.
Greene started the fourth quarter on a 16-2 run to put the Warriors away in the opening game of the tournament.
Erin Smith scored all six of her points in the last quarter and Barb Borst hit a pair of baskets for the Trojans. “We consistently held them to one shot and we were able to get our fast break going in the fourth quarter,” Case said. “When you hold a team to one shot, eventually good things are going to happen.”
McDermott led the Trojans with 12 points and Borst added 11.
In Friday’s second game, Oxford sophomore Chelsea Farrell came off the bench to score eight straight points in the second quarter, three off assists from Hollyann Branham, to turn a five-point Norwich lead into a three-point Blackhawks advantage.
Norwich regained the lead after three periods, and had several opportunities to take command of the contest, but were hurt by 6-for-24 foul shooting (25 percent) on the night. Oxford did not fare much better from the foul line connecting on 9-for-29.
The Tornado had an opportunity to force overtime when, freshman Boyan Cox was fouled at the buzzer. Down by two points, Cox missed the front end of the free throws to end the contest.
Farrell had a season-high 13 points to lead Oxford and Crandall added a season-best 12 in the victory.
Cox scored 10 to lead Norwich (0-3).
Championship Game
Oxford 50, Greene 42
Greene: Barb Borst, 1 3-6-5; Tara Bub, 0; Abby Wentlent, 2 1-2-5; Erin Smith, 2 0-2-4; Megan McDermott, 6 4-7-16; Lizzy Buhl, 1 3-4-5; Liz Wentlent, 1 3-8-5; Megan Kinne, 0; Amanda Burnett, 1 0-0-2. Totals: 14 14-29-42.
Oxford: Alyshia Crawford, 1 0-0-2; Christi Baker, 3 6-9-12; Chantel Crandall, 5 0-2-12; Chelsea Farrell, 0; Jenna Farwell, 0; Hollyann Branham, 3 4-5-10; Felicia Tynan, 1 0-2-2; Haley Witchella, 2 2-4-6; Erin Law , 2 2-3-6. Totals: 17 14-25-50.
Gre. 14 12 13 3–42
Oxf. 11 10 13 16–50
Fouled out: (G) Borst. Three-point goals: (O) Crandall 2. JV Championship: Norwich beat Greene. Officials: Cicciarelli, Berg.
Consolation Game
Sidney 36, Norwich 32
NHS: Tatyana Ithier, 1 0-1-2; M. Testani, 0 1-4-1; K. Collier, 2 2-3-6; C. Griffin, 0; Emily Tackabury, 3 3-4-9; Boyan Cox, 4 0-2-8; Chelsea Leibundgut, 0; Claire Sheldon, 0; Brooke Abbott, 2 0-0-5; Bianca Cox, 0; Adrienne Sharp, 0 1-2-1. Totals: 12 7-16-32.
Sidney: Rachael Ward, 0; Brittney Schunk, 5 0-0-10; Nicole Philpott, 4 0-0-8; Chelsea Pixley, 1 0-1-3; Sierra Houck, 1 0-0-2; Danielle Gravel, 3 1-2-7; Alesha Voltz, 0 2-2-2; Kate Philpott, 2 0-0-4; Alecia Clark, 0; Jess Wormsley, 0. Totals: 16 3-5-36
NHS 10 8 7 7–32
Sidn. 14 11 2 9–36
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (N) Abbott, (S) Pixley. Officials: Szelkowski, Davis.
Greene 46, Sidney 28
Sidney: Rachael Ward, 2 0-0-5; Brittney Schunk, 2 0-0-4; Nicole Philpott, 1 0-0-2; Chelsea Pixley, 1 0-0-2; Sierra Houck, 1 2-2-4; Danielle Gravel, 1 2-4-4; Alesha Voltz, 0; Kate Philpott, 2 0-5-4; Alecia Clark, 1 1-2-3; Jess Wormsley, 0. Totals: 11 5-13-28
Greene: Barb Borst, 5 1-3-11; Tara Bub, 1 1-2-3; Abby Wentlent, 0; Erin Smith, 3 0-1-6; Megan McDermott, 4 4-6-12; Lizzy Buhl, 0 3-4-3; Liz Wentlent, 2 3-4-7; Megan Kinne, 2 0-0-4; Amanda Burnett, 0 0-2-0. Totals: 17 12-22-46.
Sidn. 8 7 8 5–28
Gre. 7 11 12 16–46
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (S) Ward, officials: Haynes, Hendrickson.
Oxford 46, Norwich 44
Oxford: Alyshia Crawford, 0 0-4-0; Christi Baker, 0 1-4-1; Chantel Crandell, 4 1-2-12; Chelsea Farrell, 6 1-4-13; Jenna Farwell, 1 2-4-4; Hollyann Branham, 2 2-5-6; Felicia Tynan, 3 1-2-7; Haley Witchella, 1 0-2-2; Erin Law , 0 1-2-1. Totals: 17 9-29-46.
NHS: Tatyana Ithier, 2 1-2-5; M. Testani, 2 0-2-6; K. Collier, 0 0-1-0; C. Griffin, 0 0-1-0; Emily Tackabury, 4 0-2-8; Boyan Cox, 4 2-9-10; Chelsea Leibundgut, 0 0-2-0; Claire Sheldon, 1 0-1-2; Brooke Abbott, 2 0-0-6; Bianca Cox, 1 2-2-4; Adrienne Sharp, 1 1-4-4. Totals: 17 6-24-44.
NHS 9 9 15 11–44
Oxf. 7 11 9 16–46
Three-point goals: (O) Crandall 3, (N) Testani 2, Abbott 2. JV: Norwich won 48-39.
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