MG eliminates Gowanda in Class C
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ELLERY -- Maple Grove took the lead early, but never led by more than nine, and held off every push by Gowanda en route to a 51-43 Section VI Class C prequarterfinal victory Wednesday evening at Maple Grove Jr.-Sr. High School.
Rebekka Roberts led the seventh-seeded Red Dragons with 16 points and Alex Halstrom had 15 points, while Claire Price chipped in 10.
A bucket from Roberts late in the first quarter gave the hosts an 18-10 lead after eight minutes.
The 10th-seeded Panthers got back-to-back 3-pointers from C.C. John and Marissa Beaver early in the second quarter to make it a 20-16 game, but Price answered with a 3-pointer of her own to extend the Maple Grove lead.
John, who led Gowanda with a game-high 26 points, hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 23-all with 37 seconds remaining in the second quarter, but Halstrom hit a 3-pointer -- one of her five in the game -- with 8 seconds left to give the Red Dragons a 26-23 lead at halftime.
The Panthers pulled to within a point twice in the third quarter, but Maple Grove maintained a four-point advantage heading into the final eight minutes.
The Red Dragons scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to lead by nine, but Gowanda wouldn't go away. A 3-pointer from John made it 44-40 with 3:57 remaining and she hit another one just over two minutes later to make it 47-43, but the Panthers missed their final four shots and turned the ball over twice down the stretch as Maple Grove held on.
Next up for the Red Dragons is a quarterfinal date at No. 2 Randolph on Friday at 7 p.m.
NOTES: Maple Grove shot 20 of 58 from the field, including 9 of 27 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 16 times. Roberts had nine rebounds, Morgan Caldwell had eight and Halstrom had seven. Price had seven steals and Morgan Caldwell had six. ... Gowanda shot 16 of 69 from the field, including 9 of 42 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 15 times.
GOWANDA (43)
CJohn 10 0 26, Gamble 2 0 6, Beaver 2 0 5, Wilder 1 2 4, Gabel 1 0 2, Valentine 0 0 0, Giambrone 0 0 0, Graham 0 0 0. Totals 16 2 43.
MAPLE GROVE (51)
Trim 2 0 4, MCaldwell 2 1 6, Halstrom 5 0 15, ACaldwell 0 0 0, Roberts 7 0 16, Price 4 1 10. Totals 20 2 51.
3-point goals--CJohn 6, Gamble 2, Beaver, MCaldwell, Halstrom 5, Roberts 2, Price.
Gowanda 10 13 10 10 -- 43
Maple Grove 18 8 11 14 -- 51