CLARION — One end of the court was leaning heavily in Karns City's favor. The other had the Gremlins searching for answers.

In Saturday's KSAC girls basketball championship game, the Gremlins held a potent Redbank Valley team to just nine combined points in the second and third quarters. But KC managed to make just 31% (11 of 35) of its own attempts from the floor and never held a lead after a brief advantage early in the first period of a 45-30 loss at Clarion University.

KC trailed just 28-26 after three quarters, but went just one of 11 from the field in the fourth while the Bulldogs (19-5) pulled away.

"We felt an urgency to score and a lot of times, that leads to hurried shots," said Gremlins coach Steve Andreassi. "Our feet weren't set and we had poor shot selection."

As good as its defense was later on, Karns City was scrambling in the first quarter. Redbank made nine field goals in the opening period and scored 11 points in the final 2:30 to take a 19-6 lead.

"I don't know if it was jitters or nervousness, but it took us a while to get over it," said Andreassi.

The Gremlins managed just two treys in the first period, one apiece from Brooklynn Taylor and Hanna Dailey, while turning the ball over 10 times. They improved slightly with nine points in the second and trailed 23-15 at halftime.

"We tried to avoid trouble on offense, but Redbank is very aggressive on defense," added Andreassi. "We did cut down on the turnovers (10 over the final three quarters).

The third period brought KC (16-8) legitimate hope of a conference title. An 11-3 run, capped with a basket from Savanna Prescott, tied the game at 26 with 1:15 left in the quarter. But the Bulldogs finally awoke from their slumber in the fourth. Addy Bond drained a 3-pointer 38 seconds in for Redbank's first field goal in 13 and a half minutes of game time and she scored nine points in the quarter to help the Bulldogs win going away.

Prescott scored 12 points for Karns City and Taylor contributed 10.

Mylee Harmon, conference MVP, tallied 21 points, including a 14-of-16 effort from the free throw line. Bond finished with 17 points.

Karns City will play for the District 9 Class 3A championship here Thursday against either Kane or Brookville.

Redbank Valley coach Chris Edmonds was unavailable for comment.

KARNS CITY 30

Naomi Venesky 1 0-0 2, Hanna Dailey 2 0-2 6, Savanna Prescott 5 2-2 12, Brooklynn Taylor 3 2-3 10, Hannah Buchanan 0 0-0 0, Hannah Summerville 0 0-0 0, Phoebe Brandon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 4-7 30.

REDBANK VALLEY 45

Kira Bonanno 2 0-2 4, Addy Bond 6 2-3 17, Elaina Carrico 1 1-2 3, Mylee Harmon 3 14-16 21, Isabella Bond 0 0-2 0, Addy Hetrick 0 0-0 0, Hadlee Hagan 0 0-0 0, Carley Neiswonger 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 17-25 45.

Karns City 6 9 11 4 — 30

Redbank Valley 19 4 5 17 — 45

3-point goals: Karns City 4 (Dailey 2, Taylor 2); Redbank Valley 4 (A.Bond 3, Harmon).

Next: District 9 playoffs