Beloit, OH- On an early December evening, following a victory over Carrollton, I breached the topic of the Mount Union Purple Raiders with Coach Walt DeShields. The game that day was moved from the traditional early afternoon slot to the evening to enable DeShields to make the trek into Alliance to see his son TJ quarterback the Raiders in a Play-off game. He mentioned how he was telling TJ after the game that it's the post season, no need to nitpick the small stuff, it's all about 'Survive and Advance' in the post season. This simple exchange after that game came to mind quite often as tonight's tournament game against arch rival Salem unfolded.
On paper, the Warriors came in at 21-2, undefeated at home and in conference play, including two victories over these Quakers. It's difficult to beat the same team twice in one season, even more so a third time. Add into the equation an unexpected extended layoff as a result of Cleveland East Tech forfeiting their 1st round match-up with the Warriors this past Saturday due to illness and it led to some wonky basketball through a good chunk of the night.
Salem (11-13), coming off an opening round victory over Struthers, looked to continue their season by dethroning their rival on their home court. It was Reese Davidson-Chuck leading the way through the opening quarter, scoring 6 to give the Quakers an early 8-2 lead. It wasn't until the waning seconds when Junior Forward Tallie Muniz laid one in and was fouled to cut the lead to 8-5 following the successful free throw. Despite the late quarter spurt, the Quakers still accomplished something not many who enter the West Branch Field House do, holding an advantage over the Warriors at the end of a quarter.
The defensive prowess of both teams remained at a fever pitch through the 2nd quarter, as the Warriors buckled down and allowed only 1 Salem point in the frame, a free throw from Rylee Davidson. The Warriors were able to take the lead, albeit a slim advantage going into the half, up 11-9.
The 3rd quarter was all Abby Knickerbocker for the Quakers, as she accounted for all of the teams 6 points in the frame to try to keep pace with the Warriors. It was a last second 3-pointer from Warrior Senior Guard Mati Hawk to extend the hosts lead to 19-15 heading to the 4th quarter.
The Warriors rode the wave of momentum of Hawk's late quarter heroics to an offensive explosion of 14 points over the game's final 8 minutes. Leading the way in the frame was Sophomore Guard Audrey Eaton who led the team with 8 points, including 6 in the game's final quarter. The Quakers were paced by Resse Davidson-Chuck who also ended the night with 8.
The Warriors advance to take on the Perry Lady Pirates Saturday evening at 7:00 pm at Akron North High School in District action.
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