BROOKVILLE – Franklin-Monroe finished the game against Troy Christian on a 12-2 run for a 43-28 win on Wednesday in the second round of the Division IV girls sectional tournament at Brookville, and now advance to the sectional final to take on Covington.
Troy Christian opened the game with a quick 4-0 lead before the Jets rallied back on a Chloe Peters fielder and a triple from Belle Cable to grab the lead 5-4 at the 5:56 mark.
The Jets extended the lead to 12-6 by the end of the quarter with some help from Corina Conley scoring 6 points.
Troy Christian was very focused and determined to slow Conley down in the second quarter and was effective holding her to zero in the frame.
When other teams take things away other players have to step up and Chloe McGlinch and Stella Shellabarger both were good from distance connecting on some timely 3-point shots.
Shellabarger’s triple started the second quarter to extend the Jets lead to 15-6, but the Eagles were able to inch back in making the score 17-11 when McGlinch nailed a triple from the right corner to put FM back up 20-11.
TC again kept it close narrowing the gap back down to 20-15 before Peters finished a tough shot at the rim to give the Jets a 22-15 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, Troy Christian’s interior defense was stellar as the Jets were unable to score inside. Leading 25-20, FM got back-to-back triples from Conley and Belle Cable, her second of the quarter, to take a 31-21 lead heading into the final stanza.
Troy Christian is a gritty Metro Buckeye Conference team that finished the regular season with a 16-6 overall record and second place in the conference at 10-2. They made a run at FM to start the fourth quarter closing the gap to 31-26.
That’s when the Peters went to work. The junior scored 6 of the next 12 points all inside the paint and she took a few lumps in the process on some tough baskets. Her last score was a drive inside the lane where she was fouled hard and hit the floor hard with her face and nose and was a bit woozy getting up. It was a play many would exit the game, but the resilient Peters picked herself up ready to continue. That toughness was appreciated by the fans, the bench and her teammates who quickly helped her to her feet making sure she was alright.
Peters finished with a game-high 13 points to lead FM in its 43-28 victory.
Franklin-Monroe coach Abbey Moore talked about her team and their toughness after the game.
“Our defense got us going, we struggle on offense when we can’t succeed on defense. Our easy offense comes from giving that extra effort on the other end. We were able to do that in the second half and it gave us the momentum we needed to finish this game off,” Moore said.
“This year it’s been our motto, next man up because we’ve been hit with adversity every step of the way. It’s our culture, playing for each other and never quitting. It’s just who they are they don’t wilt they look at it as a challenge and they are always up for a challenge and it seems to motivate them even more,” Moore added.
That next challenge will come next Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Brookville where the Jets will get a rematch with fellow Cross County Conference foe Covington. These two teams played in the third game of the season at Covington, who won the game 59-47.
“We are extremely excited to have a rematch against Covington who is a great ball club. We felt like we didn’t quite give them our best effort the first time we played so we want to respect them a little more and give them a better game,” Moore concluded.
Franklin-Monroe, Covington and Miami East finished with 10-2 records in the Cross County Conference tied for second place behind undefeated Tri-Village at 12-0.
It will be a challenge for the Jets who are down two star players, Audrey Cable and Kennedy Morris, but you never hear them talk about it. Instead, you have tough-minded kids like Chloe Peters who show up every day ready to do work. There are no excuses just a mindset of ‘bring on the next challenge’. That will be Covington next week with a sectional title on the line.
Score by quarters
Franklin-Monroe^12^10^9^12^–^43
Troy Christian^6^9^6^7^-^28
Individual scoring
Franklin-Monroe – Cable 9, Conley 10, McGlinch 3, Shellabarger 6, Peters 13. Totals 8-8-3/10 – 43.
Troy Christian – Earhart 12, Schenk 8, A. Salazar 4, C. Salazar 2. Totals 2-10-2/6 – 28.
3-pointers – Franklin-Monroe 8 (Cable 3, Conley 2, Shellabarger 2, McGlinch 1), Troy Christian 2 (Schenk 1, Earhart 1)
