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Delone Catholic staves off New Oxford's rally


Delone Catholic zoomed to a 16-point lead after one quarter, but the Squirettes just held on for a 46-45 victory against visiting New Oxford in YAIAA girls' basketball action Saturday night at Sonny Shepherd Gym in McSherrystown.

New Oxford (7-5) had possession at midcourt with six seconds to play after a Delone turnover. The Colonials made two passes before Lauren Slonaker took a jumper from just behind the left elbow. Slonaker's shot kissed the backboard and touched the rim before falling to the ground.

"We wanted to get a little closer or get fouled. But we had a decent look there, it just didn't fall," New Oxford head coach Jim Kunkle said. "We showed a lot of heart coming back, but we need to put four quarters together and not get that far behind."

Delone (9-2) held the Colonials to just one point in the opening frame as the visitors missed all 12 shots that they attempted from the field in the first eight minutes. Meanwhile, the Squirettes' offense was cooking as they knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter and led 17-1 when the quarter ended.

Presley Berryhill connected for New Oxford's first points from the field with 7:34 left in the first half, and the Colonials drew to within 22-10 before Delone scored the last five points of the half.

"We took some good shots in the first half that rimmed out," Kunkle said. "But we took a lot of bad ones and didn't run our offense correctly for most of the half."

The advantage stayed in double digits until Breanne Sauter split a pair of free throws with 3:45 left in the third quarter that made it 31-22, and the Colonials continued their push, closing the gap to 35-31 after three quarters.

"We made some crucial mistakes that let them get the momentum and get back in the game," Delone head coach Gerry Eckenrode said. "Ox is an experienced team. We knew that they were capable of coming back."

New Oxford trailed 39-37 with five minutes to go. The Squirettes gave themselves some breathing room with a 7-1 run that featured a pair of backdoor layups from freshman Riley Vingsen off assists from Ally Shipley.

Shipley, who missed three weeks with a knee injury, made her return to the lineup. She finished the night with nine points, five rebounds and four assists.

"Ally was a little rusty from not playing for three weeks, but she was about what I expected her to be tonight," Eckenrode said. "Most importantly, she came out of this game physically fine and found out that she can play with the knee brace that she has to wear."

Delone missed the front end of 1-and-1 from the charity stripe three straight times. Two baskets from Slonaker and Presley Berryhill, along with Kaelyn Long's 3-pointer, cut the deficit to 46-45 with 17 seconds to go.

Three straight turnovers set up the final sequence of the contest.

Vingsen paced the winners with 14 points, while Sauter and Long notched 13 apiece for New Oxford.

New Oxford (45)

Stabler 0 0-0 0, Breanne Sauter 4 3-4 13, Berryhill 2 0-0 4, Nailor 0 0-0 0, Luckabaugh 2 2-2 7, Smith 0 0-0 0, Kaelyn Long 3 6-14 13, Rippeon 2 0-2 4, Slonaker 2 0-1 4. Totals 15 11-23 45.

Delone Catholic (46)

Miller 0 0-0 0, Singleton 0 4-5 4, Riley Vingsen 4 4-4 14, Laughman 3 0-0 6, Shipley 4 1-3 9, Anderson 1 0-0 3, Knobloch 0 2-6 2, Apgar 2 1-2 5, Zumbrum 1 1-2 3. Totals 15 13-22 46.

New Oxford _1 _9 _21 _14 - _45

Delone Catholic _17 _10 _8 _11 - _46

3-point goals — NO 4 (Sauter 2, Luckabaugh, Long), DC 3 (Vingsen 2, Anderson).