Petros’ pitch lifts Storm to first win of season
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| A meeting of the Lions brings LaMoille/Ohio’s Elizabeth Geuther (left) and Kaitlyn Hughes together for a loose ball Saturday at Princeton. (BCR photo/Kevin Hieronymus) |
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PRINCETON — Irini Petros made her best pitch of the season for Bureau Valley and it’s not even softball season yet.
The Storm softballer made a fullcourt length inbounds pass with 1.3 seconds remaining to teammate Heaven Bennett, who scored on a layup at the buzzer to lift the Storm to a 43-41 win over LaMoille/Ohio in the seventh-place contest of the Princeton Holiday Tournament Saturday night at Prouty Gym. It was the Storm’s first win of the season.
“I think the win will give the girls a lot of confidence. Their excitement after the game is indescribable,” BV coach Tiffany Gonigam said. “They have kept such a positive attitude throughout the last week, and finally being a part of such a competitive game was a fun experience for them. Since it was such a close contest right up to the final buzzer, the victory was even sweeter
Sophomore Erin Bennett knocked down a three-point shot to tie the game at 41 as the clock wound to zero and the horn sounded. The officials, however, awarded LaMoille/Ohio with a timeout and put 1.3 seconds left on the clock. The Storm, who had no timeouts remaining, were able to draw up the game-winning play.
“I knew one thing, Irini Petros was going to be throwing it long ... she is a great softball player and I knew she had the arm,” BV coach Tiffany Gonigam said. “I knew that Susan Brummel could set a good screen that would give Heaven Bennett a good start down the floor for Irini’s pass. Irini’s pass was perfect and Heaven finished with a strong layup. I think the girls were all a bit surprised, but it was small victories like that throughout the night that led to us being in that position. Every girl played with confidence, and that is why they were able to execute down the stretch.”
The Lady Lions built a 28-24 lead after three quarters behind sophomore Alissa Schrader, who turned in a double-double on the night with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Bennett finished with 12 points and Lacey DeVenney had 11 for the Storm.
Both teams had much foul trouble with LaMoille/Ohio losing starters Elizabeth Geuther and Shiela Browning and the Storm lost the starting trio of Nicole Bornsheuer, Katelin Johnson and DeVenney early in the fourth quarter.
“I am proud of the way our team has worked all week. Even when games were tough, they still continued to work hard and that paid off,” Gonigam said. “I think coach (LaMoille’s Dick) Gross and I both knew that it was going to be a fun and close game. We had played each other over the summer and it was always a close contest. The girls came out tonight and executed perfectly at key times. Each member of our team was needed tonight, especially as we got into foul trouble.”
Erie 42, Stark County 29: Erie made a successful and unblemished debut in the Princeton Holiday Tournament, defeating Stark County 42-29 in Saturday’s championship game. The Lady Cardinals trailed 12-9 after the first quarter, but rallied for a 22-18 halftime lead and pulled away to victory with a 12-2 fourth-quarter.
Courtney Cobert and Desirae Lawson each scored 11 point for Erie (4-0). Samantha Roth had 12 points for Stark County (3-1).
Midland 53, Henry 36: The Timberwolves used balanced scoring with all six girls in the scoring column netting eight points or more, topped by Sydney Foster’s 11 points to claim the fifth-place contest. Henry’s Emma Cluskey led all scorers with 14 points.
