OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Silver Creek’s Khloe Karnes shoots a layup during Saturday’s Section VI Class C first-round playoff girls basketball game against Maple Grove at Silver Creek High School.

By BRADEN CARMEN

bcarmen@observertoday.com

SILVER CREEK — Not even 24 hours after the Maple Grove Red Dragons eliminated the Silver Creek Black Knights in the boys basketball playoffs, the girls’ matchup had the same outcome.

No. 9 Maple Grove went on the road Saturday afternoon to take out No. 8 Silver Creek 51-40 in a Section VI Class C prequarterfinal girls basketball game at Silver Creek High School.

The Red Dragons wasted no time in scoring the first bucket of the game. After winning the opening tip-off, Maple Grove scored within the first 5 seconds on a layup by Alex Halstrom.

“We looked to try to do that,” Maple Grove head coach Mark Mansfield said. “We got a nice, clean tip — that was the big thing.”

While Maple Grove (10-10) did not score again for over two minutes, eventually, the Red Dragons scored the game’s first 10 points, while Silver Creek (10-11) was held scoreless for the first six minutes of play.

“After the first quarter, we could’ve been down 20-plus at halftime, but we righted the ship,” Silver Creek head coach Kevin Rice said.

The Black Knights hit four free throws in the final two minutes of the first quarter to get on the board, but two buckets from Dani Trim in the final 30 seconds kept Maple Grove up by 10 points after the first period.

“It’s been up and down this year. We were pretty fired up coming out,” Mansfield said. “It was nice to see that run, but we just can’t have those lulls.”

The Red Dragons extended their lead to 18-5 in the second quarter, but rather than give up, Silver Creek mounted a comeback attempt. Khloe Karnes made Silver Creek’s first shot from the field with 4:35 left in the first half. Then, at the halfway point of the period, Gracelin Stevens hit a 3-pointer to pull within single digits.

Karnes, Stevens and Maddy Blair combined for 13 points within a four-minute stretch to pull to within four, 22-18, with a minute left to play in the first half.

“When we have five girls on the floor that are collectively running our defensive system … it’s tough to beat. We cause a lot of turnovers, and a lot of sloppy or forced shots, which leads to some transition for us,” Rice said. “When the energy is up, and we make a bucket or two, everyone is smiling. You can see it on my players’ faces. The body language is good.”

Maple Grove finished the first half with five points in the final minute, capped by a 3-pointer by Alex Halstrom from the corner with under 10 seconds left to play. Maple Grove led 27-18 at halftime.

It took over four minutes for Maple Grove to score in the third quarter, but once the Red Dragons finally did, they poured it on with nine points in less than 90 seconds.

Maple Grove finished the second half of the third quarter on a 17-6 run for a 44-27 lead entering the fourth quarter, the largest lead of the game. The majority of the damage came on the fast break.

“We stepped up the pressure just a little bit. I’ve got a couple girls when they get after it, they can cause a little trouble,” Mansfield said. “… We tend to have spurts where we score some points, but then back off again. We just need to get a little more consistent.”

The first three minutes of the fourth quarter were scoreless. Silver Creek then scored seven straight points to pull within 10 points. The Black Knights pulled to within 10 on four occasions in the fourth quarter, but Maple Grove did not let Silver Creek climb any closer than that. Halstrom scored the game’s final point from the free-throw line, after scoring the first points of the game just seconds into play.

Maple Grove was led by Halstrom’s 14 points. She was one of seven players to score with six of the seven of them — Dani Trim, Gianna Rodriguez, Morgan Caldwell, Bryanna Cornell, Margaret Ryan and Halstrom herself — having at least 6 points. Halstrom also had two of the team’s three 3-pointers.

Silver Creek had the game’s top two scorers, as Gracelin Stevens (16) and Maddy Blair (15) combined for 31 of the team’s 40 points. Blair had 11 of her 15 points in the second half.

“Gracelin has been pretty steady and solid all year. When Maddy Blair is shooting confidently, that’s what the scorebook looks like,” Rice said.

Khloe Karnes had 6 points, as well, donning a knee brace after returning from knee surgery near the halfway point of the season. Meadow Azzarella, Silver Creek’s lone senior, made a free throw in the second quarter. Molly Shaw had a pair of free throws in the first quarter to conclude her first varsity basketball season.

Up next, Maple Grove travels to No. 1 Frewsburg (16-4) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. with the winner advancing to the semifinals at Jamestown Community College on Thursday, March 5.

“I’m glad we got the win,” Mansfield said. “Now we head to Frewsburg, and everybody knows that is a big mountain to climb. … There’s not a lot of mystery there — they are just a real good ball club. We can’t afford to make mistakes.”

MAPLE GROVE (51)

Rodriguez 2 2 6, Trim 4 0 9, Caldwell 3 0 6, Cornell 4 0 8, Ryan 3 0 6, Seekings 1 0 2, Halstrom 5 2 14, Castro 0 0 0, Foley 0 0 0, Quimby 0 0 0. Totals 22 4 51.

SILVER CREEK (40)

Eldridge 0 0 0, Shaw 0 2 2, Karnes 1 4 6, Washburn 0 0 0, Mahaney 0 0 0, Blair 6 2 15, Matney 0 0 0, Gonzalez 0 0 0, Azzarella 0 1 1, Stevens 6 0 16. Totals 13 9 40.

3-point goals–Trim, Halstrom 2, Blair, Stevens 4.

Maple Grove 14 13 17 7 — 51

Silver Creek 4 14 9 13 — 40