(March 12th, 2015) – ELIDA: After losing only a single game all season, the Regional qualifying Pettisville Lady Blackbirds found themselves in an unfamiliar spot heading into the fourth quarter of their match-up with Saint Wendelin.
They were down by double-digits.
Yet the Blackbird girls did what they always do, clawing their way back into the contest. Their efforts nearly paid off, but fell just short. Pettisville lost for the second and final time of the 2014-15 season, as the Lady Mohawks defeated them 41-38.
In the early minutes of the game, Pettisville struggled offensively. By the end of the first frame of play, the Lady Blackbirds were already facing a 10-2 deficit. They improved their play significantly in quarter number two, scoring 8 points to combat another 10 by the Mohawks. At the half, Pettisville was down by 10, 20-10.
Coming out of the locker room, the girls of Fulton County continued to battle. With the Mohawks not relenting, the Blackbirds matched their intensity in the third period. That led to a 9-9 tie in the stanza, which neither helped nor hurt the Pettisville comeback effort. Still down 10 points heading into the fourth and final stanza, the Buckeye Border Conference champions knew they had to step up their game if they had any chance of victory.
They did just that.
After failing to score double-digits in any of the first three quarters, the Lady Blackbird offense exploded in the fourth. Pettisville put up 19 points as they attempted to rally and steal the win from Saint Wendelin. The Lady Mohawks, however, were able to produce 12 points, which proved to be just enough to hang on for the 3 point victory.
Senior Mikala Avina was largely responsible for the Pettisville scoring effort. Knocking down 5 threes in her final game in a Blackbird uniform, the guard contributed an astounding 21 points on a rather large stage. She also managed 4 steals against a Saint Wendelin offense that only turned the ball over 12 times.
Dana Fricke, another senior for the Blackbirds, had a memorable performance as well. While she struggled to score the ball inside, making 8 points in the loss, the interior star did bring in 17 rebounds. She produced 5 steals and 2 blocks to compliment those numbers.
It wasn’t all on the seniors to keep Pettisville in the contest. Sophomore Alexa Leppelmeier offered 5 points to the Pettisville cause. She was able to connect on the only other Blackbird triple to help provide those points.