MEDINA — Derekia Mahone is averaging, perhaps, two 3-point field goals a game.
The Admiral King junior hit her average Monday night. She drilled back-to-back threes in the third quarter to keep the Admirals close in a Division I sectional final at Medina High. Then she hit four straight foul shots in the last 35 seconds as the Admirals came from behind to nip Westlake, 51-47.
It was the first time Admiral King had played in two weeks.
For their trouble, the Admirals (19-2) get a 7:45 p.m. Thursday date with Brunswick in a district semifinal on the same court. Brunswick bombed Midview, 51-26, in the first game of Monday’s doubleheader.
It was the first postseason victory for Admiral King in years. The Admirals were ousted by Elyria in the first round last February. A win over Brunswick on Thursday would put them on the verge of a rematch with the Pioneers, who meet Amherst in a 6 p.m. Thursday semifinal. Elyria won a regular-season game over Amherst, 38-35.
“This means a lot to us because last year we got knocked out in the first round,” Mahone said. “We just wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again no matter how many points we were down.”
And they were down. The Demons took an 18-15 lead into the second quarter and increased it to 29-23 at the half. It was a 32-25 Westlake lead after Rosa LaMattina hit a 3-pointer just over a minute into the third quarter.
Then Mahone hit the first of her threes.
Westlake stretched the lead to 36-28 after baskets by Kalpana Beach and Natalie Bechtel. But the Admirals’ Sharde Little scored a layup and Mahone nailed her second straight 3-pointer and the margin was cut to 36-33.
The Demons ended the quarter making three of four foul shots and led 39-33 headed into the final eight minutes. But Admiral King had stolen their momentum.
The Admirals opened the fourth quarter with a 13-1 run as Kinesia Thorpe scored six points, Shalanda Harvey five and Little two. On consecutive possessions, Thorpe nailed a 3-pointer then drove for a layup, giving the Admirals a 41-40 lead with 4:34 to play.
They never trailed again.
Admiral King also began to apply full-court pressure which forced six Westlake turnovers in its first seven possessions of the quarter.
“We made some (defensive) adjustments at halftime and we made some adjustments between the third and fourth quarters as to how we were going to play them,” Admirals coach Cheryl Bansek said. “We decided on the first entry pass we’re trapping. It seemed to work.”
Westlake, trailing 46-40, made a late run when Amelia Serrat drove the baseline for a layup, Beach made two foul shots and Serrat buried a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left, cutting the Admiral King lead to 49-47. But Mahone created the final score with her third and fourth foul shots of the quarter.
“I was worried about making those foul shots,” Mahone said. “I just had to put them in. They (Demons) had just hit a three and were only down two, so I knew I had to put them in.”
For a time, Bansek had visions of a repeat of the 2007 tournament.
“I think we were nervous there for a while, but I knew we’d be fine the second half,” she said. “But they were nervous. Before the game, they were real serious, and I said to my assistant coaches, ‘Oh, we’re in trouble. I haven’t had to yell at one kid yet.’ But this was a big hurdle to get over.”

Admiral King 51, Westlake 47

WESTLAKE (47): Brooke Henderson 2-4-8, Rosa LaMattina 7-0-15, Natalie Bechtel 1-0-2, Amerlia Serrat 3-0-7, Kalpana Beach 4-4-12, Ann Ryan  0-0-0, Lauryn Smith 1-1-3. Totals: 18-9-47.
ADMIRAL KING (51): Derekia Mahone 3-4-12, Jillian Van Wagnen 0-0-0, Sharde Little 3-2-8, Shalanda Harvey 5-1-11, Sheral Robinson 0-0-0, Kinesia Thorpe 3-4-11, I’esha Holley 1-0-2, Ivory Smith 1-0-3, Damaris Ortiz 0-0-0, Dominique Higginbotham 2-0-4. Totals: 18-11-51.
Westlake    18  11  10    8 – 47
Admiral King    15    8  10  18 – 51
3-point goals: Westlake 2-9 (LaMattina, Serrat); Admiral King 4-10 (Mahone 2, Smith, Thorpe). Field goals: Westlake 18-51 (35.3 percent); Admiral King 18-46 (39.1 percent). Free throws: Westlake 9-13; Admiral King 11-17. Rebounds: Westlake 29; Admiral King 30. Turnovers: Westlake 15; Admiral King 19. Fouled out: LaMattina.

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