Dist. 5 hoops: Forbes Road gives No. 1 seed a test

MEYERSDALE - The six-man band from Forbes Road gave the No. 1 seed all it wanted Friday night.

In the end, however, Meyersdale prevailed over the Cardinals 52-42 in a District 5 Class A girls basketball quarterfinal game after trailing 9-3 after one quarter.

"With us being a No. 8 seed, they probably didn't expect the kind of game we gave them," Forbes Road coach Jeff Gelvin said. "For three and a half quarters we were with four or five points of them."

The Cardinals, who finished 10-13, trailed 33-26 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Raiders (20-4), who will play McConnellsburg (16-7) in the semifinals on Wednesday, went on a run to take control.

"That run early in the fourth is what really got us," Gelvin said. "We got it back to within six, but couldn't get any closer."

McKenzie Gelvin led Forbes Road with 21 points, including a 10-for-13 effort at the free throw line.Courtney Schoen scored 10 points and Mina Wilt had nine.

Schoen and Mara Broadwater each pulled down nine rebounds and Wilt made seven steals.

Jeff Gelvin said, "Meyersdale played a good, aggressive defense and they took us out of our offense. But we did take the ball to the basket, especially McKenzie and Mina, and we were able to play the game at our pace until the end. They were pressing at the end and got some turnovers.

"I don't think our girls could play any harder than they did, and we played well, too. I told them that with what we dealt with this year (a six-player roster), we had a great season. Our kids learned how to play without fouling, so we never had more than one girl foul out. And to get through a 23-game season with no injuries or anybody getting sick is a real tribute to these girls."

For Meyersdale, Katie Kretchman led with 16 points and Jackie McKenzie added 12.

Meyersdale 52, Forbes Road 42 

Forbes Road (42)

Mina Wilt 4 1-2 9, Malea Truax 0 0-0 0, McKenzie Gelvin 5 10-13 21, Courtney Schoen 5 0-0 10, Maddie Miller 0 0-0 0, Mara Broadwater 1 0-0 2. Totals — 15 11-15 42.

Meyersdale (52)

Katie Bolden 1 0-0 3, Gina Walker 1 0-2 2, Erika Ritchey 1 1-2 3, Jordan Cerreta 2 1-2 5, Jackie McKenzie 6 0-0 12, Presley Yutzy 2 2-2 7, Isabella Miller 2 0-2 4, Katie Kretchman 5 6-8 16. Totals — 20 10-18 52.

Forbes Road _ 9 _ 8 _ 9 _ 16 _ — _ 42

Meyersdale _ 3 _ 15 _ 15 _ 19 _ — _ 52

3-point goals — FR 1 (Gelvin), Mey 2 (Bolden, Yutzy).