Lady Warriors rout Minerva in EBC season finale
By Ray Sarvis
FPS Correspondent
This is not a bad time to be a Carrollton basketball fan.
The boys are gunning for at least a share of the Eastern Buckeye Conference title, but what about the girls? While the Lady Warriors may not have won the EBC this season—West Branch’s grip on the crown seems to involve Gorilla Glue—Carrollton’s lofty record and level of play have given hometown fans plenty to cheer about.
Carrollton was back in action on Jan. 27, hosting Steubenville in a non-conference contest that went down to the wire, with the Big Red outlasting the Lady Warriors 44-40.
Steubenville took the early lead, ending the first quarter ahead 12-8. But Carrollton, facing a team ranked in the top 25 among Division III schools, did not back down. The Lady Warriors turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, outscoring Steubenville 10-5 to take an 18-17 edge into halftime.
Steubenville responded in kind in the third quarter, putting together an 8-4 run to reclaim a narrow three-point lead. In the fourth quarter, defense gave way to offense as both squads began scoring in bunches, combining for 37 points in the final period after tallying just 47 points in the first three quarters.
Unfortunately for Carrollton, Steubenville (12-5) answered every push the Lady Warriors made and staved off their comeback attempt. Emma Shafer led Carrollton with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Ivy Bishop contributed 10 points, five rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
After a few days to regroup, the Lady Warriors returned to the court to host EBC rival Minerva in the final conference game of the season for both teams. Although West Branch had already clinched the EBC title, Carrollton played with intensity, crushing the Lions 55-14.
The 41-point blowout was a far cry from their first meeting in December, when Carrollton narrowly edged Minerva 37-36.
This time, Carrollton exploded out of the gates, scoring 19 unanswered points in the game’s first five minutes, capped by Brae Roudebush’s three-pointer from the top of the left key. Minerva finally got on the board when Ireland Kirkpatrick sank a free throw with 2:35 left in the quarter.
Minerva added five more points before the end of the first quarter, but Roudebush, now in rhythm, drained another three-pointer, giving Carrollton a 22-6 lead entering the second quarter.
The Lady Lions opened the second quarter with a basket to trim the deficit to 14, but Carrollton responded with a 15-0 run fueled by defensive pressure and sharp outside shooting. Minerva managed two free throws with seven seconds left in the half, but Shafer drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the right arc to extend Carrollton’s lead to 40-10 at halftime.
The Lady Warriors combined to shoot 9-of-18 from beyond the arc and were led by Kylie Ujcich’s 12 points and three assists. Shafer added 11 points and three assists. Roudebush and Bishop each contributed 10 points for Carrollton (14-5, 8-2). With the loss, Minerva dropped to 7-10 overall and 2-8 in the EBC.
