Obenrader Comes Alive Late as North Clarion Survives Cranberry in Overtime in KSAC North Showdown

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published December 16, 2017 5:20 am
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FRILLS CORNERS, Pa. (D9Sports) — Great players step up at the biggest times of the game, and that is exactly what happened for both teams in North Clarion’s 52-46 overtime win over Cranberry in an early season KSAC North showdown at North Clarion.

(Photo: Hager Paving Players of the Game: Tori Obenrader (left) and Mackenzie Bauer of North Clarion)

Tori Obenrader, North Clarion’s star, and the reigning District 9 MVP was held in check — for her — in the first three quarters by a staunch Cranberry defense that limited her to nine points and 10 rebounds.

But in the fourth quarter and overtime, the senior, who is headed to Gannon, exploded for 13 points and seven rebounds to lead the She-Wolves to victory running their record to 4-0 overall and 2-0 KSAC North.

“I think no matter what sport you are in, players know when they need to step up,” North Clarion head coach Terry Dreihaup said. “I think in the fourth quarter, she knew she needed to touch the ball every time down the floor. She made a couple of really nice offensive rebounds for putbacks, and she made a couple of real nice foul shots. She played really well.”

Obenrader scored North Clarion’s final eight points of regulation, including a basket with 3:17 to play that put the She-Wolves up 39-30.

But Cranberry (2-1, 0-1) has its own set of great players in senior Erin Merryman and junior Malliah Schreck, and the duo helped the Berries climb out of the nine-point hole with two-and-half minutes to play to force overtime.

First, it was Schreck, who was held scoreless in the first half, hitting a pair of 3-pointers with a Merryman bucket sandwiched in between to get Cranberry within three, 41-38, with 1:38 to play.

Then Merryman hit two free throws with 1:04 to go after a steal to make it 41-40, and after Obenrader hit two one-and-one free throws on a ticky-tack foul on Schreck that fouled Schreck out of the game — more on that later — to make it 43-40 with 26.7 to go in regulation, Merryman stepped up and nailed the game-tying 3-pointer with around seven seconds to play that sent that game to overtime after Abby Gatesman layup attempt at the horn was too strong.

Merryman nails the game-tying three.

“Big players are going to step up in big times, and both teams did,” Cranberry head coach Carrie Melat said. “It was a great game.”

In overtime, Gatesman, who finished with seven points and 10 rebounds, gave the She-Wolves a 45-43 lead off a pass from Obenrader, who was named one of two Hager Paving Players of the Game, but Merryman, who had a team-high 21 points, answered with another three, her third of the game, to put the Berries up, 46-45, with 3:26 to play.

Enter Obenrader again, who was 0-for-5 from 3-point range in the first half and hadn’t tried one up to this point in the second half. But this time she heaved one up from the top of the circle and it was nothing but net to put the She-Wolves in front for good, 48-46.

Big players are going to step up in big times and both teams did. It was a great game.

“She just answered their great play with a great play of her own,” Dreihaup said.

Mackenzie Bauer then sealed the win by hitting four straight free throws in the final 23.7 seconds. Bauer was 6-for-6 from the line during the game and finished with eight points, six in the second half.

Bauer and Obenrader talked about the victory.

CHRIS’ THOUGHTS

1. You can’t stop her you can only hope to contain her. Cranberry had a great game plan against Obenrader. They shadowed her with Schreck for most of the night and put a lot of pressure on the ball giving North Clarion’s inexperienced guards some trouble with the ball pressure. But in the end, Obenrader finished with a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds with most of those coming before Schreck fouled out. As Melat said, “Give Tori credit. Big players hit big shots and she stepped up.” Obenrader is what makes North Clarion the favorite to repeat as KSAC Champions, even if the rest of the team around her is still getting used to playing with each other.

2. Schreck, who had 10 points and six rebounds with all the rebounds on the offensive end, got a tough break on her fifth foul. Schreck was called for her fifth foul with 26.7 seconds left in regulation and North Clarion up one, 41-40. As the video shows, there was very little contact between her and Obenrader and, in a lot of instances, nothing is called on a play like this. But this time it was, and instead of Cranberry getting the basketball down one, Obenrader hit two free throws to put North Clarion up three. And those two points were part of the reason the game went to overtime. And to make matters worse for the Berries, they had to play the final 4:26 without one of their best players. But to Melat’s credit, she didn’t blame the officials and said it was a learning moment for her team.

“What I’m going to tell her is the very first one she picked up early in the game where she is trying to make a steal against Tori 17 feet from the basket with (Tori’s) back to the basket. Those are the types of (fouls where if you don’t commit them) we aren’t going to be in that situation at the end of the game. We just have to get there mentally.”

Watch the foul that disqualified Schreck from the contest.

3. North Clarion grew a little bit Friday night. The She-Wolves, with the inexperience at guard, could have wilted when Cranberry rallied from a 22-20 halftime to take its largest lead of the game, 30-26, when Schreck finished off a 6-0 spurt with a basket off a pass from Merryman. But instead of folding, North Clarion answered with a 13-0 run and kept Cranberry scoreless for nearly eight minutes to take the 39-30 lead. A steal and two free throws off it by Bauer with 54.8 seconds left when Cranberry was trying to play for the last shot up 30-27, really turned the game around.

“That steal, I believe, changed the momentum,” Dreihaup said. “Mackenzie is just one heck of a defensive player. She is continually on the go. The girl is just a great defensive player.”

4. Cranberry is a seasoned team and this loss isn’t going to set the Berries back. It’s easy to forget that Cranberry was a PIAA playoff team in Class 2A last year finishing third in District 9 and the Berries only two KSAC North losses a year ago came to North Clarion. This team is going to be right in the thick of things the rest of the season, and you can bet they are going to have the Jan. 30 rematch in Seneca circled. They showed the heart of champions when rallying from the nine-point deficit when nothing was going right, and Merryman and Schreck are easily two of the best players in the KSAC.

“It’s a moral victory,” Melat said of rallying to force overtime. “We didn’t hang our heads. We didn’t fold. We fought back and we made our own little push.”

5. North Clarion needs to clean up the turnovers. The She-Wolves turned the ball over 26 times, including 10 in the first quarter, and 15 times in the first half. Cranberry was able to take advantage in the first quarter scoring eight points, but the Berries then weren’t able to make hay off the turnovers until late when they used them to help in the comeback. It is the third time in four games North Clarion has turned the ball over at least 22 times, but Dreihaup believes he saw his team grow right before his eyes in overtime.

“It’s absolutely a learning curve (with our young guards),” Dreihaup said. “You could see just by the turnovers we had. The bad passes we made. But we played the smartest in overtime. We knew we were leading, and we had a couple of times when we were inside the key and kicked the ball back out to run more clock. That just shows me they are starting to get it.”

Malliah Schreck of Cranberry (left) and Tori Obenrader of North Clarion prepare for the opening tip Friday night.

Malliah Schreck of Cranberry (left) and Tori Obenrader of North Clarion prepare for the opening tip Friday night.

THE ROAD AHEAD

North Clarion is at Clarion-Limestone Tuesday (JV starts a ½ hour later at C-L at 6:30 p.m.) and then returns home to face Clarion Friday. The She-Wolves are in the Kane Christmas Tournament Dec. 27 and 28.

Cranberry hosts Clarion Tuesday in its home opener before hosting Eisenhower Thursday and traveling to Forest Area (at East Forest) Friday. The Berries are then hosting the Don Hall Christmas Tournament Dec. 27 and Dec. 28.

NORTH CLARION 52, CRANBERRY 46, OVERTIME

Score by Quarters

Cranberry 12 8 10 13 3 — 46
N. Clarion 13 9 7 14 9 — 52

CRANBERRY — 46

Erin Merryman 6 6-8 21, Ellie Kahle 1 0-0 2, Hannah Duncan 2 0-0 4, Ashley Finch 3 0-0 6, Malliah Schreck 4 0-2 10, Ava Ferring 1 0-2 2, Maddie Cornelius 0 0-0 0, Kaylie Bruce 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 7-14 46.

NORTH CLARION — 52

Mackenzie Bauer 1 6-6 8, Gabby Schmader 1 1-2 3, Abby Gatesman 3 1-2 7, Gabby Carll 4 0-0 8, Tori Obenrader 8 5-5 22, Haley Sherman 2 0-2 4, Cierah Manross 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 13-17 52.

Three-pointers: Cranberry 5 (Merryman 3, Schreck 2). North Clarion 1 (Obenrader).

Rebounding Leaders: Cranberry 30 (Merryman 6, Bruce 6, Schreck 6). North Clarion 41 (Obenrader 16, Gatesman 10).

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