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Trojans Prevail

Hand Maple Grove First Setback, 46-37

Southwestern’s Reece Beaver drives to the basket during Thursday’s Division 1 West basketball game at Maple Grove. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

A defensive battle for supremacy over Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 West fell in favor of the visiting Southwestern Trojans on Thursday evening on Dutch Hollow Road.

Maple Grove was able to keep pace through two quarters, with halftime showing a 22-22 stalemate, but the Trojans’ grit proved too much to overcome as Southwestern finished with a 46-37 victory on the back a 19-point effort from Erin Radack to hand the Red Dragons their first loss of the season.

Southwestern moved to 7-5 overall and 2-1 against league opponents, while Maple Grove is now 8-1 overall and 2-1 against league foes.

“We played hard in the first half,” said Maple Grove head coach Bill Price. “The second half it was a heart-check and they had bigger hearts.”

Despite finishing her night with 19 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and two assists, Radack faced one of her most difficult defensive challenges of the season against Maple Grove.

Maple Grove’s Bre Hill puts up a shot while being defended by Southwestern’s Allison Lundmark during Thursday’s Division 1 West basketball game. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

The Red Dragons opened up the first quarter with a pair of inside buckets from Bre Hill, while Radack collected her first field goal with a slashing inside move to the rim. The visitors had an 11-10 lead after Sofia Genareo hit the first of her two 3s on the night on the way to an 11-point effort to supplement scoring for Southwestern.

Maple Grove was able to respond with a turnaround finish from Lauren Grissom off the bench, before ultimately taking back its lead when Courtney Hemminger hit Hill with a nice pass down low to finish off the opening quarter.

What was a heightened defensive pace in the first quarter only continued to escalate in the second, as Marisa Schuppenhauer set to work at the foul line for the hosts on back-to-back possessions while Allison Lundmark was able to find some open space in the paint for a pair of buckets down low for the Trojans.

Maple Grove continued to work at the foul line in the second period, with Hill knocking down a pair of shots to pull things back to even at halftime.

After Hill’s early success, the Trojans were able to make some crucial adjustments to limit her chances in the second half.

“We switched up our defense and I thought we ratcheted up the intensity a little bit better than what we had played in the first half,” said Southwestern head coach Dave Turnbull. “We played a lot more zone in the second half, and it is a really pressured zone so I thought that helped us tremendously. I think it made it difficult for the guards to get the ball to their post players, and they have good post players. So that was important to us and the girls really played well.”

Maple Grove went on a 10-point offensive run while implementing their new defense, as Carissa Minarovich hit Gianna Hoose with a stretch pass, while Radack was able to feed Genareo for her second 3 of the day.

“Bre Hill, we couldn’t get the ball to her in the second half,” said Price. “They did a good job adjusting and taking her out of the game, so that hurt us…not being able to get Bre the ball as much as we wanted. We just have to get better. Southwestern is tough. They play hard every possession and they just played harder than us, but the first half we shot a little better.”

After spotting the Trojans 10 points, Maple Grove could not muster enough offense to get back within striking distance in the final quarter as Radack added five more points while Reece Beaver added a big bucket inside.

“Our league is a tough tough league so every game is, I think, going to be like this. It makes it exciting, it’s a lot of fun,” said Turnbull.

NOTES: Minarovich finished with 6 points, seven rebounds and four steals for Southwestern while Hoose added 4 points, nine rebounds and an assist. … Hill’s night included 10 points, eight rebounds, three steals and one assist while Schuppenhauer and Hemminger each chipped in 7 points. … Anna Tranum finished with 4 points, four rebounds, an assist and two steals for Maple Grove.

SOUTHWESTERN (46)

Beaver 1 0 2, Hoose 2 0 4, Genareo 3 3 11, Minarovich 2 0 6, Radack 7 4 19, Lundmark 2 0 4. Totals 17 7 46.

MAPLE GROVE (37)

Tranum 1 2 4, Grissom 1 0 2, Price 0 1 1, Tarbrake 0 0 0, Hill 4 2 10, Snow 2 2 6, Schuppenhauer 1 4 7, Hemminger 2 2 7. Totals 11 13 37.

3-point goals: Schuppenhauer, Hemminger, Genareo 2, Radack.

Southwestern 13 9 14 10–46

Maple Grove 14 84 11–37

Jayvees: Southwestern 59, Maple Grove 35

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