Calvert scored eight points in the game's first 1:40 and had a 10-2 lead over Mohawk with 5:44 left in the first quarter.
The Senecas scored four points the rest of the half, as Lynsey Trusty took control of the game and helped Mohawk hold off a couple Calvert runs for a 54-52 victory Thursday in Tiffin.
"(Calvert) was up pressing us, and we just had to get the ball in, be smart, make smart decisions and work together as a team," Trusty said after scoring 19 points and snatching six steals in the Warriors' win.
All of Calvert's first five baskets were point-blank shots, but after that, the Senecas made just 3 of their next 12 to close out the half. In that span, Mohawk forced a number of turnovers and went on a 22-6 run.
"We took a couple of timeouts and settled them down, and then we played some good team ball before halftime," Mohawk coach Josh Fortney said. "I'm really proud of the way our girls came out and responded to that."
A steal and jumper by Kasey Adelsperger (8 points) tied the game at 12 in the final minute of the first quarter, and another jumper by Trusty gave Mohawk an edge that, as it turned out, it never relinquished.
Fact Box
| Mohawk 54, Calvert 52 |
| Mohawk (10-4, 6-2): Lynsey Trusty 4-11-19; Sarah Runion 2-4-10; Taylor McClain 0-0-0; Kasey Adelsperger 4-0-8; Ashley Parker 2-0-5; Erika Coldiron 0-0-0; Sarah Parker 5-1-12; Liz Runion 0-0-0. Totals: 17-16-54. |
| Calvert (8-8,4-4): Emma Sullivan 0-0-0; Brittany Perry 6-2-14; Kate Brickner 4-3-11; Sam Beckley 0-0-0; Megan Funkhouser 2-0-5; Olivia Smith 3-6-13; Nicole Bickley 3-2-8. Totals:18-14-52. |
| Mohawk 14 10 14 16 — 54 |
| Calvert 12 4 17 19 — 52 |
| Field goals: Mohawk 17-52; Calvert: 18-36. |
| Foul shots: Mohawk 16-27; Calvert 14-25. |
| 3-point goals: Mohawk 4-15 (Runion 2, S. Parker, A. Parker); Calvert 2-9 (Funkhouser, Smith) |
| Rebounds: Mohawk 29 (S. Parker 8, A. Parker 7); Calvert 22 (Smith 8) |
| Turnovers: Mohawk 20; Calvert 30. |
Mohawk led 24-16 at halftime and started the third quarter on an 8-1 run. A layup by Trusty punctuated the stretch and pushed Mohawk's edge to 32-17 with 5:52 to go in the third.
To say Calvert coach Tim Ritzler wasn't happy with his team's play would be a gross understatement. In fact, the coach wasn't exactly elated with things when his squad was winning early.
"We forced some mistakes early, we made some shots and then after that, we got careless with the ball, made some turnovers," Ritzler said. "Even when we were up 10 points, it didn't seem like we were that into the game. You figure you get up 10 on a team like Mohawk and they call a timeout, your bench would explode. We didn't really come back with energy after that...we just never got into the game, it seemed like, until the second half."
And it was after Trusty's basket made it a 15-point game that Calvert started a comeback, pressing the Warriors and forcing mistakes. The Senecas (8-8, 4-4 Midland Athletic League) found some momentum and started cutting into the Mohawk advantage. Brittany Perry's short basket with 4:22 left in the period made it 32-22. A Perry basket less than a minute later made it 32-24, then a right side 3 by Megan Funkhouser made the deficit 32-27 with 2:15 left.
Perry finished with a team-best 14 points. Olivia Smith had 13 points and eight boards.
"We started to get some confidence in ourselves, we started attacking more," Ritzler said.
Fortney said Calvert's press affected the Warriors, but it shouldn't have surprised them.
"That's one of the things we repped over and over for this game and talked about," he said. "We kind of dropped the ball on that."
But behind Trusty, Mohawk kept answering. It led 38-33 going to the fourth quarter, and bumped the lead up to 50-42 with 1:28 left.
But Calvert had one last frantic run in it. A jumper from the elbow by Nicole Bickley cut Mohawk's lead to 52-46 with less than a half minute left, and a three-point play by Perry cut the Warriors' lead to four with about 10 seconds left.
Then Trusty turned the ball over. With 5 seconds left, Olivia Smith buried a 3. Suddenly Mohawk led just 53-52.
After Mohawk's first inbound attempt was knocked out of bounds,the Warriors got the ball to Sarah Parker, who was fouled with 1.8 seconds left. The foul was ruled intentional, so after Parker split the pair of foul shots, Mohawk retained possession and dribbled out the clock.
Parker finished with 12 points and a team leading eight rebounds, and Mohawk had an exhausting win.
"That was intense," Trusty said.
If Trusty was nervous, she didn't show it.
"I felt pretty confident in the girls," Trusty said.
She had reason to. Mohawk improved to 10-4, 6-2 in the MAL.
