Hang time: Prophets build big lead, hold on for regional win
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| Prophetstown’s Kelsie Stafford holds onto the ball as Polo’s Sarah Powell tries to take it from her during the Class 1A Erie Regional. Prophetstown won to advance to Wednesday’s semifinals against top-seeded Milledgeville. (Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@svnmail.com) |
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ERIE – The Prophetstown Prophets built a 16-point lead Monday, then held off a furious comeback bid by the Polo Marcos to earn a 51-43 win in the first round of the Class 1A Erie Regional.
Fifth-seeded Prophetstown (13-17) advances to a semifinal matchup with No. 1 seed Milledgeville at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
“That’s happened several times,” said Prophets guard Mary West, who scored six of her 12 points in the fourth quarter. “We get ahead and then we start losing it.
“We tend to do a lot better when they get close. We’re playing so much better than we did at the beginning of the year.”
The Prophets, who never trailed, gradually pulled away to a 29-13 advantage with 5:43 left in the third quarter.
Down, but not out, fourth-seeded Polo (10-14) fought back.
The Marcos turned up the pressure and used a 16-2 tear that took less than 5 minutes to make it a two-point game, 31-29, with less than a minute remaining in the quarter.
Prophetstown answered, scoring the last five points of the period to take a 36-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
Polo again battled back within two after Katelyn Grobe’s 3-pointer from the left corner with 2:02 remaining. Grobe had 14 points.
After a Prophet turnover, the Marcos had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Prophetstown’s 6-foot-2 center Claire Sigel (team-high 16 points, 12 in the second and third quarters) blocked a shot, then Polo’s Sarah Powell misfired on a 3-pointer. The Prophets closed the game by hitting eight straight free throws.
“Our Achilles’ heel has been breaking presses,” Prophetstown coach Don Robinson said. “When teams press us, we tend to get shook a little bit. I was ecstatic with the way we played the first half, but like I wrote on the board at halftime, one half plus one half equals one.”
Barbara Duffy’s 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first quarter gave Prophetstown a 9-3 lead after one period.
Duffy hit another 3 to start the second-quarter scoring. Moments later, a 3 from Stephanie Patton gave the Prophets a 17-5 lead.
Prophetstown led 23-13 at the half. The Prophets opened up their 16-point advantage with the first six points of the second half.
Powell hit 3-pointers to start and finish Polo’s third-quarter blitz. Julie Haye, who scored a game-high 18 points – finishing with 999 as a Marco – provided seven points in the burst, which also included a three-point play by Grobe.
“We came back and got it within two, then we threw the ball away three times in a row,” Polo coach Jeff Grobe said. “Then, we had to foul and they made the free throws. We went to our man-to-man press to get back in the game. It gets us going, but we can’t go all the time with it. I’m proud of the girls.”
Star of the game: Claire Sigel, Prophetstown, 16 points, 12 in the second and third quarters
Key performers: Julie Haye, Polo, 18 points, finished with 999 varsity points; Mary West, Prophetstown, 12 points, 6 in the fourth quarter; Katelyn Grobe, Polo, 14 points
Up next: Erie Regional semifinal, Prophetstown vs. Milledgeville, 6 p.m. Wednesday
