LAGRANGE — It was the three-quarter-court press that did it for Elyria Catholic on Wednesday night. It was because of the deep hole they put themselves in that the Wellington girls couldn’t quite do it in Division III sectional tournament openers at Keystone.
EC’s Panthers (11-9) celebrated their first postseason win in years after drilling Lutheran West, 57-25, in the first game of a doubleheader.
But Wellington (12-9) fell behind Independence 8-0 and 19-4 in the first quarter. And while the Dukes fought back and tied the Blue Devils three times, they never took the lead in a 59-48 loss.
Independence earned a date with third-seeded Oberlin for a sectional championship at 6 p.m., Saturday. EC advanced to a sectional final game with second-seeded Trinity at 7:30 on the same night.
Elyria Catholic’s strong defensive job doesn’t get all the credit. The offense also came to play. The Panthers found themselves trailing 6-3 midway through the first quarter, then staged a 24-0 run that stretched more than three minutes into the second.
After the Longhorns scored again, EC went on a 13-1 tear and the put game out of reach, 40-9, at the break. Freshman star Emily Taylor, who finished with a game-high 24 points, scored 17 of them in the first half, 13 in the second quarter, then sat out much of the third quarter. Another freshman, Ashley Schuster, contributed 10 points.
Perhaps the happiest Panther was senior Stephanie Recko, who scored seven points, all in the second half, and played in the first tournament victory of her varsity career.
“This means the world to me,” Recko said. “It’s what I wanted most this season. We went from being 3-17 to 11-9 this year, to having a winning record. It’s like the most I could ask from my senior year.
“Coach (Pat Higley) was really happy with the way we played the first half. The second half we lost focus, but we still maintained our pressure and wouldn’t let them back in the game. I think that’s what won it for us.”
Lutheran West ended its season at 9-12. Marissa Stover scored a team-high eight points.

Rally falls short

Wellington staged an amazing comeback after trailing Independence 19-8 after a quarter. The Dukes opened the second with a 10-0 run, cutting the Blue Devils’ lead to 19-18 as Katie Stumphauzer scored two baskets, Emily Touma drove for a field goal on a steal and Chrissy Greer and Callie McConnell hit two foul shots apiece.
The Dukes caught up at 21 after Stumphauzer scored from the left side and Touma made a foul shot. And they stayed within 27-25 at the break. In the third quarter, Wellington tied the game at 29 when Alyssa Rangel scored in the paint, but Independence went on a 12-4 to lead 41-33 heading into the final eight minutes.
The Dukes refused to cave. They put together a 10-2 spurt on baskets by McConnell and Greer, two by Rangel in the paint and a pair of foul shots by Touma to tie it again, at 43. But the Blue Devils won the last 6:41, 16-5. Independence shot 37 free throws for the game, 15 in the fourth quarter when it made 10.
Touma and McConnell each scored 10 points for the Dukes and Greer added eight. Independence got 19 points apiece from Megan Osysko and Hannah Stretar.
“We could have turned tail and not really come back at all,” said Wellington coach Ron Clady. “But the kids really played hard. They did what we needed to do to get back in the game, but we could just never get past a tie. The effort was there. We just couldn’t close it out.”
Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7137 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

EC 57, Lutheran West 25

LUTHERAN WEST (25): Caroline Mennenett 0-0-0, Krista Zaharewicz 2-0-4, Jackie Castro 0-1-1, Sarah Gettinger 1-0-2, Kristen Gyorgak 0-0-0, Sarah Jackson 2-1-5, Anna Ali 0-1-1, Erin Smith 1-0-2, Aimee Carpenter 1-0-2, Sara Siebert 0-0-0, Marissa Stover 3-2-8. Totals 10-5-25.
ELYRIA CATHOLIC (57): Stephanie Recko 3-1-7, Mimi Rothgery 1-1-4, Emily Taylor 8-7-24, Molly O’Malley 0-0-0, Myrasia Flowers 2-0-5, Cassidy Keating 0-0-0, Tory Rothgery 0-0-0, Katherine McNeeley 1-0-2, Emily Thompson 0-0-0, Katie Shoemaker 0-1-1, Ashley Schuster 5-0-10, Andrea Eichenlaub 0-0-0, Jasmine Fluker 2-0-4, Julianna Tremont 0-0-0. Totals 23-10-57.
Lutheran West       6    3  11   5 — 25
Elyria Catholic     16  22    4  15 — 57
3-point goals: Lutheran West 0-4; EC 3-9 (M. Rothgery, Taylor, Flowers). Field goals: Lutheran West 10-39 (25.6 percent); EC 22-53 (41.5 percent). Free throws: Lutheran West 5-12; EC 10-16. Rebounds: Lutheran West 29; EC 27. Turnovers: Lutheran West 33; EC 15 Fouled out: None. 

Independence 59, Wellington 48

WELLINGTON (48): Katy Bowman 1-0-2, Cassie Gleisner 3-0-6, Amy Rader 0-0-0, Christy King 0-0-0, Jerrica Frye 0-0-0, Morgan Brasee 0-0-0, Becky King 0-0-0, Emily Touma 3-3-10, Alyssa Rangel 3-0-6, Katie Stumphauzer 3-0-6, Chrissy Greer 3-2-8, Callie McConnell 3-4-10. Totals 19-9-48.
INDEPENDENCE (59): Candace Pumper 3-3-9, Steffanie Malarik 0-0-0, Nicolina Sirna 0-0-0, Megan Osysko 7-4-19, Hannah Stretar 5-9-19, Jillian Gubbini 0-0-0, Rebecca Kapusta 1-5-7, Megan Linscott 0-0-0. Halle Scharton 1-3-5, Elyse Shaffer 0-0-0, Jean Fletcher 0-0-0. Totals 17-24-59.
Wellington    8    17    8    15    —    48
Independence    19    8    14    19    —    59
3-point goals: Wellington 1-14 (Touma); Independence 1-7 (Osysko). Field goals: Wellington 19-66(28.8 percent); Independence 17-65 (26.2 percent). Free throws: Wellington 9-14; Independence 24-37. Rebounds: Wellington 35; Independence 49. Turnovers: Wellington 21; Independence 22. Fouled out: Greer, Stumphauzer.

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