ARCANUM — Most coaches would concur that a game is made up of two halves, but in this case the game was decided by threes in the third quarter. The end result was the Lady Trojans overcoming a first half deficit to pull away for a 74-54 win over the high flying “Bees” from Miami County’s Bethel.
Athletic Director Brian Sprada was on call as well as the local fire department as the Lady Trojan’s of Matt Grote scorched the nets for a sizzling 31 points in the third quarter. The scoring was even more impressive when you consider the C.C.C. squad only had 29 points in the first half alone, and were down by one at 30-29.
The win propels the Trojans to a 2-1 record after finishing runner up in the Bill Burkett Tournament last weekend. The Trojans counterparts, the Bethe Bees drop to 0-2, and 0-1 in the Cross County lidlifter.
“The ladies knew I was not happy with their play in the first half but then we really stepped it up and got after it. We are really blessed with shooters such as Sherritt and Johnting from the 3 point arc. We still need to work on limiting our turnovers and playing a complete game on defense,” Coach Grote commented afterwards.
The 1st quarter saw both sides lighting up the scoreboard like the Christmas trees outside. Freshman Gracie Garno made some graceful moves and led the Trojans with 5 points, aided and abetted by a zealous 4 points from senior Kaitlyn Zell and of course a 3 pointer a piece from senior cohorts Brittany Kinney and Stevie Johnting. Arcanum’s 15 first quarter points were outdone by the senior dominated busy bees from Bethel as they garnered 18 points. Junior Alaina Hawthorne led the way with 6 points inside, while seniors Morgan Crase and Becky Sweiterman sweetened the scoring with 4 points apiece.
The 2nd canto saw more of the same fast action in this see-saw affair as Grote’s Trojans were able to slice the deficit to two at 31-29. Awakening from being shut out in the 1st quarter was senior sharp shooter, McKenzie Sharitts who got 8 points by putting in two of her six three-pointers for the game. This tied the school record which she set last year from the arc. Stevie Johnting was not too far back as she joined in with 6 points all from the charity stripe without a misfire. Only Hawthorne and Crase could counter with 4 and 3 points apiece to keep the ”Bees”’ buzzing into the locker room up by 2 points.
Third quarter points proliferated from all over for the black and orange court which was highlighted by a banked in three pointer by Sharitts that only the Arcanum branch of Greenville Federal could count. After all the pyrotechnics were said and done, the Trojans took control of the game with 31 points and holding the Bees to 12. Johnting was johnny on the spot with 12 points , closely followed by Sharitts who rained down 11 counters with three threes. Bethel countered with Hawthorne who hooked in four points to lead her squad.
Arcanum’s fourth quarter saw the Trojans improve on their 60 to 43 point by another three as the final tally ended up 74-54. All the players got into action as both coaches emptied their benches to the delight of the 200 spectators in attendance. Johnting paced the Trojans with four counters, while senior Kayla Grable popped in three for the Bees who buzzed out of a town with a 20 point defeat. Bethel scoring showed Hawthorne with 14 points, Sweiterman 12, Morgan Crase 8, Delaney 8, Emily Crase 6, Grable 5, and Lowery with one for total of 54 points.
Bethel buzzed in one three, 20 regulars and 11 free throws for their unusual stat sheet. Arcanum ‘s points were led by Johnting with 25, Sharitts 22, Garno 9, Kinney 7, Zell 7, Siculan 2 and Hartman 2 for a total of 74. The scoring breakdown showed 12 threes, 14 regulars and 10 free throws for their unique stat sheet. Arcanum’s can do attitude from the three was the difference as they were outscored by 12 points on 2s, one point from the charity stripe, but amassed a 33-point advantage from the trifecta area.
