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By Rick Weaver
For the Mirror
BLAIRSVILLE -- He who hesitates is lost, so goes the saying. Or she, as the case might be.
Central Cambria struggled to cope with a swarming and active defense and went on to drop a 54-38 decision against River Valley in the District 6 Class 3A girls' basketball consolation game on Friday night at River Valley Middle School.
"I felt like we struggled in the halfcourt offense tonight. We couldn't really buy a basket. And I think we were panicking a little bit because we couldn't buy a basket," Lady Red Devils coach Brittany Bracken said.
River Valley junior point guard Ava Persichetti especially proved to be a thorn in the Lady Red Devils' side. Persichetti totaled 12 steals.
"(She's a) great basketball player. We saw her on film. We knew she was going to be tough. She put her hands on a lot of basketballs. It seemed like she was always in the mix. She was running all over the place," Bracken said.
River Valley coach Rick Brown said there was a game plan at the outset but his team struggled too much at times.
"We try to switch (the defense) up a little bit," he said. "I didn't know we were going to play that God-awful tonight because that's what got us through the Portage and Marion Center games. (But) tonight we couldn't remember where we were going, who had what."
River Valley received balanced scoring from its starting unit. Rylee Kitner led all scorers with 14 points. Persichetti added 13 points, and Emilee Staats threw in 10 points.
The Lady Red Devils cut the difference to five points by the end of the third quarter, thanks largely to the hot outside shooting of freshman Katie George. She hit all three 3-point field goals attempts in the period, and Central Cambria entered the final eight minutes trailing 40-35.
"Katie did an awesome job coming off the bench and hitting those 3s. My team did an awesome job finding her, finding the hot hand. That was a great comeback," Bracken said.
It was as close as they would get, however. In fact, the Lady Red Devils' only three points in that quarter came from George, whose fourth 3-pointer halted a 10-0 rally that put River Valley ahead, 50-35.
"They switched back from the zone to man, and we struggled to get into rhythm," Bracken said.
Brown took the blame, too.
"That's my fault for trying to switch it up," he said. "We should have stayed with what works."
George led the Lady Red Devils with 12 points. She was the only Central Cambria player to score in double figures.
"I just about went crazy. Once they cut it to five, I kind of had to go down and pout in the corner a little bit because I couldn't get them to get on (George) and she kept on hitting bombs. But we recovered," Brown said.
Aubrey Ruddek led all players with 10 rebounds. Ruddek, Alaina Sheehan and Abigail Sheehan came up with three steals apiece.
"Defensively I thought we did a good job on the boards," Bracken said. "We just needed to put the ball in the hoop."
Brown was complimentary of the Lady Red Devils.
"I think Central Cambria is a kind of underrated," Brown said. "I think that record (13-12) kind of leads people to think they're OK. But I think they're a great team, the coach is great."
Bracken voiced hope the Lady Red Devils will return to the playoffs next season. Central Cambria started five juniors and suited only two seniors in the consolation game.
"(We hope to be) playing for a district championship. We want to back here and, hopefully, on the winning side," Bracken said.
CENTRAL CAMBRIA (38): Alaina Sheehan 3 0-0 7, Abigail Sheehan 1 2-2 4, Link 1 0-2 2, Barra 2 1-2 5, A. Ruddek 3 0-0 6, Long 0 2-2 2, George 4 0-0 1, Kudlawiec 0 0-0 0, Lockard 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 5-8 38.
RIVER VALLEY (54): Persichetti 5 3-3 13, Staats 4 2-2 10, Foust 4 0-0 8, R. Kitner 7 0-0 14, LaMantia 3 0-0 6, K. Kitner 1 0-0 3, M.Cole 0 0-0 0, Dunlap 0 0-0 0, Reaugh 0 0-0 0, Artley 0 0-0 0, K.Cole 0 0-0 0, Totals 24 5-5 54.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Central Cambria 6 11 18 3 — 38
River Valley 10 17 13 14 — 54
3-point field goals: Central Cambria 5 (George 4, Alaina Sheehan), River Valley 1 (K.Kitner).
Officials: Shawn Sinclair, Courtney Cecere, John Page.
Team records: Central Cambria (13-12), River Valley (20-7).