FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP — While Loren Gehret and her Southern Columbia teammates found themselves looking up an early deficit, all it took was one big, quick run to get things moving in a positive direction.
Once the Tigers’ eruption came to a halt — and Southern’s seniors had plenty to do with making things happen — order was restored.
Popping four players into double figures — Gehret finished with 23 points, Alli Griscavage tacked on 17, Tatum Klebon wound up with 13 and Ava Novak pocketed 10 — the Tigers rolled to a convincing 70-38 triumph over Warrior Run on Friday night at Charles T. Nesbitt Gymnasium.
Griscavage completed her double-double by grabbing 13 rebounds. Novak snared eight boards and dished out eight assists. Gehret, meanwhile, finished with seven assists as the Tigers maintained a crisp pace and kept the ball moving while shooting just under 50 percent (26-for-54) from the floor.
Peyton Meehan tossed in nine points, and Sienna Dunkleberger netted eight for the visiting Defenders (4-8, 0-4), who led 14-9 with 3:28 remaining in the opening quarter after Kelsey Hoffman canned a pair of free throws.
Barely four minutes of game time later — a 17-0 outburst triggered by Klebon’s stickback and punctuated by a Griscavage finish — the Tigers were sitting on a 26-14 lead. Warrior Run closed to within nine twice on an Alexis Hudson 3-ball, but never drew any closer as Southern closed the opening half with a 14-3 run that sent the Tigers into the locker room holding a 40-20 advantage.
“We knew it was going to be back and forth the first few minutes before we’d get our feet going and get running,” Gehret said of a Southern outfit that shot 60 percent (9-for-15) in the first quarter. “But, I thought we just started hitting outside shots.”
Pressure was one key for the Tigers as a 2-2-1 full-court press caused Warrior Run to cough up the basketball 11 times during the first half. That defensive heat also enabled Southern to find an electric pace that led to bucket after bucket.
And if Southern had to resort to a half-court set, the 6-foot-1 Griscavage was on the receiving end of numerous entry passes or Gehret and Novak took turns slashing through the painted area in an effort to get to the tin.
Yet for those wondering how effective Southern’s seniors were throughout the opening 16 minutes, the trio of Gehret (15), Griscavave (13) and Novak (6) scored 34 of the Tigers’ 40 first-half points. The quick-firing Klebon accrued the rest.
“We knew those three would be our key players coming into the season,” Southern Columbia coach Kam Traugh said. “That’s what we need, but we haven’t done that.
“I’m hoping we can continue that.”
Southern led by as many as 33 points (68-35) before the final buzzer sounded.
“Lately we’ve been playing well,” Traugh said. “We’ve just got to finish all four quarters. Tonight, we were able to finish all four quarters.
“Even though we got down at the beginning, the girls kept their composure and kept playing.”
While the Tigers have had difficulty closing out games and collecting results, they’re hoping Friday night’s victory could generate momentum and have Southern gaining steam as mid-January rolls into February and March. What’s problematic is Traugh’s squad plays in a division filled with hammers, meaning every night out a challenging examination from the folks on the opposite bench awaits.
Just next week, Southern will play Loyalsock, Bloomsburg and Mount Carmel. Fortunately for the Tigers, all three tests are at home.
“It’s going to be a tough week,” Gehret said. “We’ve just got to keep our heads.”
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