Committed Gremlins dominate Union girls
KARNS CITY — The strongest foundation for athletic success is not a statistic, but a mentality.
Steve Andreassi is confident that no matter how far his Karns City girls basketball team can go this season, its effort will not be in question.
“We have a group of girls who have a strong desire to succeed,” he said. “They work really hard ... We keep preaching intensity and they’re bringing it.”
Union felt the sting of it Friday as the host Gremlins dealt the Damsels a 46-17 defeat.
“Defensively, we were able to set the tone early on tonight,” added Andreassi.
The Gremlins went 13-10 last year, falling to Redbank Valley in a District 9 semifinal. Current sophomore point guard Brooklynn Taylor has injected energy at both ends of the floor to keep the team on pace for a return trip to postseason play. She scored 13 points Friday to match her season average, which is tied with Chloe Fritch to lead the team.
“She (Taylor) started getting more playing time toward the end of last season,” Andreassi said. “She’s our only true point guard, but can also get to the hoop and hit the three.”
Taylor knew coming into the season that she was being counted on to pick up her play and she has bolstered the team in a number of areas. Her 6.5 rebounds per game are second on the team to senior Emma Dailey’s 7.5.
“My expectation was for us to play more as a team and create more opportunities for each other,” she said. “We’re a defensive team and have come a long way.”
“Brooklynn is playing superb defense, is able to get the job done without fouling,” Andreassi said. “We’re still figuring some things out, but can go eight or nine deep and that’s important for us.”
Union dropped to 4-12 with the loss, the eighth time in 16 games this season the Damsels have scored less than 25 points.
“We can’t put the ball in the hole,” said Union coach Josh Meeker, in the first year of his second stint with the team. “We don’t have girls who have that scoring mentality. We’re trying our best, but we struggle against good defensive teams and Karns City is a good defensive team.
“At halftime (with KC leading 31-8), we told the players that no matter what the score is, we had to play hard until the final buzzer and they did.”
UNION 17
Hailey Theuret 1 3-4 6, Kya Wetzel 0 1-2 1, Emerson Stevens 1 0-0 2, Katie Gezik 0 2-2 2, Cheyenne Dowling 3 0-0 6, Ava Strauser 0 0-0 0, Emma Weaver 0 0-0 0, Gracie Gallagher 0 0-0 0, Grace Kindel 0 0-0 0, Nevaeh Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals: 5 6-8 17.
KARNS CITY 46
Emma Dailey 3 2-2 8, Chloe Fritch 2 2-4 7, Savanna Prescott 2 0-1 4, Brooklynn Taylor 4 1-2 13, Naomi Venesky 4 0-0 8, Shae Pistorius 1 0-0 2, Jordan Macurak 1 0-0 2, Hannah Buchanan 1 0-0 2, Taylour King 0 0-0 0, Hanna Dailey 0 0-0 0, Trinity McFarland 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 5-9 46.
Union 4 4 1 8 — 17
Karns City 21 10 11 4 — 46
3-point goals: Union 1 (Theuret); Karns City 5 (Taylor 4, Fritch).
Tuesday: Karns City at Keystone
Thursday: Clarion at Union
