January 27, 1999

Columbian girls follow advice to beat Madison

By Ed Fox
Sports Writer

Columbian girls listened well to coach Larry Kisabeth Tuesday night.

The veteran coach stressed that rebounding and strong defense in the paint were keys to victory.

The Tornadoes excelled in both areas while improving to 7-5 overall with a 40-37 win over Mansfield Madison.

Megan Pease, a 6-2 senior, scored eight points as the Rams, 7-4 overall, took a 13-11 lead in the first quarter. But, the volleyball all-Ohioian was held to just three points the rest of the way.

The Tornadoes also had a 28-22 advantage on the boards as Jenny Bergstrom and Anna Fretz each grabbed eight rebounds.

''I think we came of age tonight,'' Kisabeth said. ''I mentioned to the girls that we've played well in a couple games and let them slip away, the Shelby and Upper games came to mind. This is a very fine Mansfield Madison team. We played a pretty good first half and a great second quarter.

''We hit enough free throws at the end and kept our composure and got it done when we had to.''

Renee Reid canned a short jumper to give Madison a 34-33 lead with 6:08 to go in the game. It was the first time the Rams had led since leading by a 13-11 count at the end of the first quarter.

Junior Anna Fretz, who led the Tornadoes with 11 points, scored on a put back with 3:40 remaining to give Columbian the lead for good.

Kris Keirns, also a junior, knocked down a pair of free throws as Columbian stretched its lead to 37-34 with 1:36 remaining.

The Rams, who face Marion Harding Thursday for the Ohio Heartland Conference championship, had an opportunity to cut into the lead but Carrie Ritchie missed a wide open drive to the bucket. It was the first of three layups that Madison missed in the final 1 1/2 minutes.

With 36.2 seconds to go, Erin Moore hit a pair of charity tosses as Columbian took a 39-34 lead.

Pease, who led the Rams with 11 points, hit a 3-point play the old-fashioned way with 25.7 seconds to go as Madison closed to within two (39-37). Keirns hit one of two free throws seven seconds later to put Columbian up 40-37 and ice the victory.

''We thought controlling Pease was the key. She gets eight of her points in the first quarter and they've got the lead. We hold her scoreless in the second period and we've got the lead at halftime. We also looked to control Hope Van Tilburg on the perimeter. She hit a couple 3's, but was not a factor.

''Keirns has been playing a lot better lately. She's coming back the way we need to have her play. We had good balanced scoring and that's what we have to have to be successful.

''This was a big game because the tournament draw is coming up and this could make it a little more interesting,'' said Kisabeth.

Madison clicked on 16-of-42 action shots and hit all three of its charity tosses. Columbian was 16-of-44 from the floor and 7-of-12 from the foul line.

''We just had trouble knocking down the shots when we had good opportunities,'' said Madison head coach Andrew Booth. ''Bethany Bradford, our 6-3 post player, is out with a stress fracture and may not be back until sectional time and the other girls appear lost at times in trying to find a leader on the floor.''

''We were successful in going to Pease early and Van Tilburg hit an early shot from 3-point range and I thought maybe she might be on tonight, but she only hit one more the rest of the way and they (Columbian) really tightened theirdefense on Pease, putting two players on her,'' said Booth.