But the Patriots tacked on three more points in the last 10 seconds to lead 22-3 at the end of the first, and they never looked back.
With a 56-19 victory, Carroll advanced to face No. 7 seed Western Brown in a district final Saturday at Springfield.
In the nightcap, No. 6 seed Sidney led No. 9 Tecumseh 16-7 after one quarter and kept the Arrows at bay throughout the night before pulling away for a 58-34 win.
The Yellow Jackets (18-6) will face either Wilmington or defending state champion Purcell Marian in another district final Saturday.
Carroll 56, Greenville 19
Maura Petrovic started the scoring with a 3-pointer from the right wing for Carroll on the first possession of the game, and the Patriots quickly opened up a 7-0 lead.
They led 19-0 when the Green Wave got on the scoreboard with a basket by senior Megan Lind. Jayda Lyons added two more on a jumper on the next possession, but Eva Snyder scored three for the Patriots in the final 10 seconds of the quarter to set the margin at 22-9 after one.
They outscored Green Wave 20-1 in the second quarter to remove most of the suspense, and most of the second half was played with a running clock.
“It’s always nice to be able to get everyone in and just kind of have a comfortable pace of playing,” said Carroll coach Cecilia Grosselin, whose team improved to 21-2 and won its 16th game in a row.
“I think our defense is really good,” she said when asked to describe the Patriots’ formula for success. “I think that we have several offensive-minded players on the team, which helps a lot when you can rely on everyone, not just one or two. All of our starters are capable of being the high scorer for the game, and then we have a strong bench, a couple of really strong shooters coming off the bench. So that definitely helps as we go. We’ve never had a bench as strong as we do this year.”
Greenville finished 10-14 after tying Piqua for third in the MVL Miami division in the regular season.
Sidney 58, Tecumseh 34
Senior forward Kelis McNeal scored 27 points and sophomore forward Olivia Foye added 14 as Sidney (18-6) dispatched of Tecumseh (12-12) in the second game of the night in Springfield.
“I just try to do what’s best for the team,” said McNeal, led the MVL in rebounding in the regular season with 10.1 per game while also averaging 10.1 points per game. “So if that means if my shot’s not falling and I’ve got to play defense, then that’s what I’ll do. If I have to rebound, then that’s what I do.
“But if I’m able to score, then that’s also good, too,” she added with a smile.
About the Author
