ELYRIA — If Keystone’s field-goal shooting had been even mediocre, things might have turned out differently Friday night at Elyria High.
But with a barrage of bricks, the Wildcats shot just 28 percent, which can be — and was — disastrous against an opponent like Admiral King.
Division II Keystone outscored the defending Division I district champions for half the opening game of the 10th annual Lorain County Holiday Classic. But they still play two halves of basketball.
Yet even with the Wildcats’ unfortunate shooting, Admiral King was forced to hang on for a 46-41 victory in the season opener for both. That’s a far cry from the teams’ meeting in the Elyria tournament last year, when the Admirals ran injury-riddled Keystone out of the gym, 61-14.
Admiral King got 20 points from senior Derekia Mahone to advance to tonight’s championship game with Elyria. Tipoff will be about 7:45 p.m. The Pioneers, who’ve won 19 straight games without a loss in their own tournament, routed Vermilion in Friday night’s second game.
“They came after us, but we showed mental toughness for a game this early in the season,” King coach Cheryl Bansek said of Keystone’s fourth-quarter rally. Trailing by 13 points three minutes into the fourth, the Wildcats crafted a 10-0 run to cut the Admirals’ lead to 44-41 with 2:18 to play. But they never scored again.
During the run, Erin Gallagher scored five points, Chloe Irish three and Casidy Gregory two.
“That’s something over the last two-plus years we’ve been trying to do, show mental toughness,” said Bansek, Ohio’s Division I co-coach of the year last season. “We could have folded like a deck of cards, but we didn’t. So I’m very pleased with that.”
Bansek said she was also pleased with Mahone’s shooting. Mahone, who made three of the team’s four 3-pointers, said she’s happy to be facing Elyria again, the team the Admirals defeated in the Medina district final in February.
“It means a lot that we get a shot at taking (Elyria’s) title away,” Mahone said. The Pioneers defeated Admiral King in last year’s Classic final. “They’re always tough, that’s why we always look forward to beating them. But we have to work for it. We still have stuff to work on and think about.”
Mahone was the only Admiral to score in double figures, although Sharde Little contributed eight points, Shalanda Harvey seven and I’esha Holley six.
Three of Keystone’s four starting seniors — Irish, Gallagher and Taylor Bell — scored 34 of the team’s 41 points, Irish 14 and Galagher 13. Becky Nielsen scored five, including one of the Wildcats’ two 3-point baskets. Irish nailed the other.
“The last comment I made in my pregame was ‘61-14,’” Keystone coach Scott Terry said. “That was the score last year when we played Admiral King. From an execution standpoint, for the most part I’m really happy the way our girls played. We didn’t have a good shooting night and that could have made a difference.”
Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7136 or bdaniels@chroniclet.com. 

Admiral King 46, Keystone 41

KEYSTONE (41): Becky Nielsen 2-0-5, Kim Kokoski 0-0-0, Taylor Bell 2-3-7, Molly Cornish 0-0-0, Chloe Irish 5-3-14, Karli Sturgill 0-0-0, Casidy Gregory 1-0-2, Erin Gallagher 6-1-13, Emily Nagy 0-0-0. Totals 16-7-41.
ADMIRAL KING (46): Derekia Mahone 8-1-20, Madison Stoyka 0-0-0, Sharde Little 4-0-8, Dominique Higginbotham 1-0-2, Shalanda Harvey 3-1-7, Jade Blair 0-0-0, Sheral Robinson 1-0-3, I’esha Holley 3-0-6, Taj McCall 0-0-0. Totals 20-2-46.
Keystone    10    11    10    10    —    41
Admiral King    14    17    8    7    —    46
Three-point goals: Keystone 2-14 (Nielsen, Irish); Admiral King 4-5 (Mahone 3, Robinso). Field goals: Keystone 14-57 (28 percent); Admiral King 20-44 (45 percent). Free throws: Keystone 7-11; Admiral King 2-10. Rebounds: Keystone 30; Admiral King  32. Turnovers: Keystone 12; Admiral King 17. Fouled out: None.

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.