January 4, 2007 - Arcanum,Ohio

By George Starks

Tri-Village took an early 6-3 lead over Arcanum Thursday in the Patriot varsity girls basketball game in the Cross County Conference (CCC).

After that, it was all downhill for the Lady Patriots, as Arcanum rolled
to a convincing 51-35 victory.

The Trojans went on an 8-0 run to close out the frame to hold a 11-6
lead.

To make matters worse for the Patriots, the visitors never scored in the second quarter until the 2:38 mark of the frame when senior Tina Allison hit in the paint for two.

By that time, Arcanum had built a commanding 24-8 lead and would never look back.

But it wasn’t the play of senior Ashley Falknor or Jackie Eib in the
first half that made the difference for the Trojans.

It was the play of sophomore Betsy Printz. Printz finished the half with six points, four rebounds and two steals,gaining high praise from coach Steve Christ.

“Betsy played an outstanding first half and she said she wasn’t feeling
real well at the start of the game,” said Christ. “They (TV) were keeping
Jackie (senior Eib) from scoring, and they were holding Ashley (Falknor) down also. Betsy really stepped it up in the first half and kept the momentum going for us.

“She didn’t think she was playing very well but she came in, got some key baskets. She just very quietly goes about her business on the floor and no one really knows she’s around. She was a big key for us tonight.” By game’s end, Printz never scored another point, pulled down another board or made another steal.

Then again, she didn’t need to.

Falknor started to find her stroke in the second half, finishing with a
game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Eib finished with eight for the Trojans in support.

When Falknor hit a long distance trey at the buzzer to close out the
first half, it was a sign that the big senior was back on track.

“When those two got rolling, it was like instant offense,” said Christ.
“It got the crowd into the game. We came out sluggish in the second half and the Allison girl (Tina) hurt us a little bit in the second half, but
Jackie and Ashley did a good job on her, as we switched off on her.

“My sophomores are the ones that are stepping up and doing the job for us,” Christ continued. “They are going to play like sophomores some games, and play like upperclassmen in other games. We are halfway through the season (11 games) and we are starting to see that.

They are starting to pick the pace up a little bit, and it allows me to rest my seniors at times. They are doing a great job.”

For Tri-Village coach Brad Gray, it was a game that started on a positive note but never stayed that way. Early in the first quarter, Allison had picked up her second foul and was forced to alter her game. That changed everything for the Patriots.

“We battled and we played hard,” stated Gray. “With Tina in foul trouble early, we had to leave her in there, but it definitely changed the way we had to play this game.

“With us sometimes it’s a mental thing. We had some things that didn’t go our way early in the game, and that mentally affected us as a team and I think it affected us the whole first half. We played well in the second half and actually played them even. But when you are playing a game of catchup against a team that is experienced, it’s tough to get back into it.”

Allison led the Patriots with 15 points in a losing effort.
In the junior varsity game, Kylie Thomas hit a shot in the paint and then converted a three-point play upon being fouled with 15.5 seconds
remaining in the game to give Tri-Village a 26-25 victory. The three
points by Thomas were her only points of the game.

Now 8-3 on the season, Arcanum hosts Lehman Catholic at noon Saturday in a non-conference game. Tri-Village is now 5-5 overall and 2-4 in the CCC, and plays at Bradford next Thursday at 6 p.m. in a varsity-only contest.

Score By Quarters:

Tri-Village 6 6 13 10 - 35
Arcanum 11 16 17 7 - 51

Individual Scoring:
Tri-Village (35)
Stahl 2-2-6, Burns 2-0-4, Allison 7-0-15, Frazier 1-0-2, Stamps 4-0-8,
Totals 16-2-35.

Arcanum (51)
Cates 3-0-6, Kramer 2-1-5, Schellhaas 2-0-4, Falknor 6-4-19, Printz
3-0-6, Meyer 1-0-3, Eib 3-1-8, Totals 20-6-51.