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Dragons Still Perfect

Despite Coach Wanting More, Maple Grove Improves?To 8-0

Maple Grove’s Sam Snow puts up a shot during Monday evening’s CCAA Division 1 West game against Fredonia at Maple Grove Junior-Senior High School. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

At the end of a foul-riddled second half of play, it was host Maple Grove that was able to come away with a 54-39 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 West girls basketball win over Fredonia on Monday evening.

The Red Dragons stretched their perfect record to 8-0 while earning a second consecutive league victory thanks to a hot night of shooting from Courtney Hemminger.

The senior hit all four of her 3s in the first three quarters to give the hosts a vital cushion on the way to a team-high 16 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Fredonia fell to 4-3 overall after its first league defeat.

“We changed our defense to make sure that we had somebody marked on her but she hit some big shots. Give credit to her,” Fredonia head coach Mark Putney said of Hemminger. “The keys to the game were which team could finish their shots in the paint. Both teams have really good, strong inside play and they finished more shots than we finished.”

Maple Grove’s Kelsey Tarbrake is fouled as she takes the ball to the basket during Monday evening’s CCAA Division 1 West game against Fredonia at Maple Grove Junior-Senior High School. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

Fredonia held a 9-7 lead through the early going as Ally Walton-Bald picked up an easy bucket off the opening tip and then had a look at a three-point play after being fouled on a lay-in the following possession. The senior missed the extra free throw on her way to 12 points and six rebounds.

Hemminger was fouled on the way up for her first try from beyond the arc, taking two of those three buckets at the charity stripe, before cashing in on her first 3 to make it a one-point game.

Giving the Maple Grove offense a push in the closing minutes of the first quarter was Anna Tranum with a pair of makes at the foul line and a baseline drive, while Kelsey Tarbrake finished off a steal-and-drive to make it 15-9 in favor of the Red Dragons.

That lead was stretched to 22-11 on the back of a 3 by Hemminger, a putback from Tarbrake and another inside bucket by Bre Hill early in the second quarter.

Hill finished with 8 points and a team-high 11 rebounds as well as a pair of steals.

Fredonia’s offense remained stagnant through the second period, as Hemminger hit home on another bucket from beyond the arc to give Maple Grove a 13-point lead at halftime.

“To see her come out tonight, I was happy for her,” Maple Grove head coach Bill Price said of Hemminger. “I was happy for her. She’s a shooter and when she shoots she does other things well so for her to come out and have that good shooting night is important. We have Southwestern on Thursday. She is going to have to shoot well against them.”

The Hillbillies continued to try and grind out inside buckets through the third quarter, with Walton-Bald earning back-to-back buckets while Kazlin Beers was able to force a turnover that was finished off.

Beers’ night included 9 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists while Grace Mroczka did her best to lead Fredonia down low with 10 rebounds.

Dooming the visitors in the third quarter were 16 fouls, with Maple Grove converting on half of those while adding three more points at the free throw line in the fourth.

The Red Dragons were also able to rely on a strong all-around effort from Marisa Schuppenhauer, whose performance included 9 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“We’ve got to get better at the end of the day,” Price said after the win. “We keep stressing all the time, get better every day. With our league it’s going to be tough to beat some of the teams we want to beat.”

FREDONIA (39)

Beers 2 5 9, Mroczka 1 1 3, Buchanan 2 0 4, Gullo 1 1 4, Vazquez 1 1 3, Walton-Bald 6 1 12, Sam Tabone 0 0 0, Bigelow 0 0 0, Marsh 1 1 4. Totals 14 9 39.

MAPLE GROVE (54)

Tranum 1 2 4, Grissom 2 0 4, Price 0 0 0, Tarbrake 2 1 5, Hill 3 2 8, Snow 2 4 8, Marshall 0 0 0, Schuppenhauer 2 4 9, Hemminger 4 4 16. Totals 16 17 54.

3-point goals–Gullo, Marsh, Schuppenhauer, Hemminger 4.

Fredonia 9 6 14 10–39

Maple Grove 15 13 11 15–54

Jayvees: Maple Grove 40, Fredonia 29.

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