(March 5th, 2015) – ARCHBOLD: The Lady Blackbirds continued to build momentum on a postseason run as they took down the Lady Raiders of Wayne Trace on Thursday, March 5.
Pettisville topped the Raiders 49-40 to advance to the District finals.
Opening the contest on a hot streak, the Blackbird girls flexed their offensive muscle throughout the first quarter. They took a 15-8 lead into the second period. Defense ruled that frame, as Pettisville came out of the low scoring span with a 4-3 effort. Going into the locker room, the Lady Blackbirds enjoyed a 19-11 advantage.
The scoring pace picked back up in the third stanza. Managing 14 points of their own, the girls of Fulton County were able to distance themselves an additional 4 points from Wayne Trace, limiting their offensive production to 10 in the quarter. With a 33-21 edge heading into the final period of play, the Blackbird defense looked to close out the game in the final eight minutes.
That’s not what happened, though.
Building on the offensive duel of the third quarter, the points really started to fly in the fourth. The Lady Raiders nearly doubled their points total of the first three quarters combined, scoring 19 points down the stretch. This put significant pressure on the Pettisville offense. The unit answered the call, however, stepping up when they were most needed. They put up 16 points, more than enough to withstand the avalanche of points unleashed by Wayne Trace.
Even after giving up so many points in the fourth quarter, Pettisville Head Coach Jason Waldvogel was still proud of his team’s defensive efforts.
“I though out defense was solid tonight.”
In the end, it was experience that won the game for the Blackbirds.
“We were able to look to our seniors once again.” Waldvogel stated.
One of those seniors, Dana Fricke, took control of the contest. Totaling 17 points on the evening, she connected on 6 field goals from within the arc to establish herself as an interior force. Yet Fricke was able to flash her versatility, stepping on the other side of the line to connect on a three.
Classmate Mikala Avina also had a great night scoring the ball. Driving into the paint early and often, the senior guard forced the Raider defenders to send her to the free throw line. She took full advantage, knocking down 10 shots from the line on her way to 15 points.
Jordyn Pursel, another senior, also reached double digit scoring in the game. The defensive whiz put up 10 points of her own, mixing up interior scoring with productivity from the free throw line.