Lady Raiders sweep season series from Indiana
No one seems to know where the ball is as Indiana's Kaitlyn Hoff (14) battles with Uniontown's Danasha Harris (5) for control of a loose ball Thursday at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gym.
With pressure from Indiana’s Audrey Stapleton (3), Uniontown’s Jordan Crutchman (3) drives to the basket for the Lady Raiders Thursday at Uniontown High School.
Uniontown's Keya Rose (31) tries to get a shot away but is fouled by Indiana's Lauren Dickinson (25) on Thursday at Uniontown.
No one was talking about the Section 3-AAA championship yet after Uniontown’s 50-33 girls’ basketball win over Indiana on Thursday. Too much remains at stake with important games at home against Mount Pleasant and at Laurel Highlands next week.
But the Lady Raiders were pleased with a season sweep of Indiana after so many years of frustration against the Lady Indians.
“Hats off to the players before us and to the players now,” said Uniontown coach Jason Winfrey. “It shows that hard work pays off. Coach (Dave) Woodward does a great job and Indiana is still Indiana. They’re a well-coached team.”
Uniontown (12-3, 7-0) essentially put the game away with two big runs. The first was a 13-1 spurt that broke from the game’s only tie at 10-10 to help build a 25-16 halftime lead. The second run was a 16-0 string that came after Indiana cut the lead to seven points early in the third quarter.
Indiana (8-6, 4-3) jumped to a 7-2 lead as Audrey Stapleton scored five points and Allie Liboski added a basket to offset a field by Danasha Harris for Uniontown.
The Lady Raiders went ahead 10-7 on an 8-0 run that included two baskets by Harris, a rebound basket by Jessy Madison, and two free throws by Lydya Dennis.
A 3-point basket by Olivia Sipos tied the game at 10-10 before Dennis scored the final basket of the quarter to begin an eight-point Uniontown run. Harris scored twice around a Dennis jump shot to open the second period with an 18-10 lead.
Stapleton’s free throw at 2:05 ended a seven minute drought for Indiana. But Jazmin Belt scored a basket, Madison sank a free throw and Dennis scored from long range for a 23-11 lead, and Uniontown was ahead 25-16 at halftime.
Liboski’s free throw and Stapleton’s three-point play helped Indiana cut the lead to 27-20 two minutes into the second half.
Uniontown answered with the 16-0 run on Dennis’s 3-point basket, two Madison free throws, seven straight points from Annissia Mosley, a Belt basket, and two free throws by Jordan Crutchman for a 43-20 lead.
The margin grew to 50-20 in the fourth quarter before Indiana scored the game’s final 13 points to set the final score.
Dennis and Harris scored 13 and 10 points respectively to lead UHS, while Stapleton’s 14 points led Indiana.
“Our defense is our identity,” Winfrey said afterwards. “We want to play strong defense and attack with our transition offense. We’re playing them one game at a time. Obviously Mount Pleasant is our next opponent and we’ll play hard. Whatever happens, happens.”