Conestoga’s Janie Preston, left, blocks a try from Springfield’s Lexi Aron in the first half of the Pioneers’ Central League semifinal tournament victory over the Cougars Saturday. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
By Matt Smith
When each team chooses a quarter in which to go scoreless, a player who manages to sink two baskets in succession becomes the hero.
In stepped Conestoga sharpshooter Marisa Francione, who didn’t put the onus on herself, but happily obliged when given the opportunities.
Somebody needed to be the offensive player of the game Saturday, and it was Francione, who led every player by a decent margin with 11 points.
“Yeah, after not scoring in the second quarter, I definitely felt like we needed a little bit of energy to get back into it and regain the lead,” Francione said. “And it worked. There was good team passing and everything and I just got the open shots and they fell.”
Francione drilled two 3-point baskets to open the third quarter, turning a one-point deficit against No. 3 Springfield into a cozy five-point advantage for No. 1 Conestoga. The Pioneers out-defended the Cougars the rest of the way and earned a 22-14 victory in Saturday’s Central League playoff semifinal.
Webmaster’s note: Delcohoops.com will be video streaming both the boy’s and girl’s Central League Championship games on Monday, February 13th! Tune in at 5:50 for the girl’s game and 7:20 for the boy’s game for our LIVE video broadcast!