Al Gabriel
WeAreColerain.com
In a game that Colerain head basketball coach Christi Mack knew would be a 'battle', the lady Cardinals held off the McAuley Mohawks 40-38 at Colerain last night. " I knew this would be a battle. The kids are from the same neighborhoods and they all know each other. Not taking a single thing away from McAuley but this was our worst game of the year. We shot just 25% from the field and just 12 of 22 from the free throw line and we got outrebounded. We were fortunate to find a way to win tonight and I am proud of our kids."
Colerain held a 30-27 lead entering the fourth quarter but the Mohawks quickly erased the deficit and the game was tied at 38 with 2:07 remaining in the game when a scare was put in to the Colerain faithful. Ashley Wanninger, who led all scorers with 17 points went down hard on the floor in front of the scorers table at mid-court while battling for a loose ball. Wanninger lay on the floor for a few minutes while the trainers attended to her but was able to walk to the Colerain bench under her own power with what appeared to be a leg cramp.
Wanninger would return to hit the front end of a 1 and 1 to give Colerain a 39-38 lead and Alexis Fitzpatrick would hit 1 of 2 free throws after a McAuley miss to account for the final score and she would come up with a tough rebound off of McAuley's last attempt and dribble out the clock to send Colerain to its sixth victory of the season. Sheaira Jones kicked 6 big points, all in the second half, that stemmed the tide of any Mohawk momentum.
(Pictured above from left to right: Alexis Fitzpatrick, Ashley Wanninger and Sheaira Jones)
