by Dean Raymond
Correspondent
Uniontown -- The score was tied at two before Walsh Jesuit went on a 25-0 run and cruised to an 82-19 victory over Streetsboro Feb. 24 in a Division II sectional contest at Uniontown Lake High School.
Thanks to nine points from senior guard Kara Goliat in the first quarter, the Lady Warriors led 23-2 after one quarter of action and kept pouring it on after that.
Senior guard Cheryl Yu connected on a three-point goal with 1:48 remaining in the second period, capping a 17-0 spurt by Walsh Jesuit as the Maroon and Gold led 44-4.
A highlight on the evening for the Lady Rockets was the play of sophomore guard Rachel Kolke who had two triples in the game, including the first one with 57 seconds left in the second quarter as Streetsboro trailed 44-7.
The Lady Warriors led 48-9 at the half as sophomore forward/center Liz Reeves banked home a five-foot jumper with a pretty assist to sophomore guard Rachel Theriot with two seconds to go in the second period.
A 14-0 run in the third quarter gave Walsh Jesuit a 66-12 advantage as senior center Nneka Offodile sank 1-of-2 free throws with 3:19 remaining in the third period.
Head coach Pete Zaccari then played most of his reserve players the rest of the way as freshman guard Jessa Gilberto among others played well down the stretch for the Lady Warriors.
The Lady Rockets did stay even with the Lady Warriors in terms of three-point goals at 3-3, including a triple from senior guard Stephanie Lesher with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter as Streetsboro trailed 74-17.
"Before the game, I told my kids to play hard," Lady Rocket head coach Amanda Blazetic said. "We played to the best of our ability. My team has improved so much from last year. We had fun. Walsh Jesuit is a very tough team to play."
Meanwhile, Lady Warrior head coach Pete Zaccari still wants to take things one game at a time.
"There is no letdown in the playoffs," Zaccari said. "We have been looking forward to this since we lost to Wapakoneta in the Regional Final game last year. This is the first of eight steps to win the state championship. We have a lot of depth and every player feels a part of the team. My girls deserve the playing time they get and they earn it."
Streetsboro ended up 6-of-38 from the field for 16 percent and 4-of-5 at the line for 80 percent.
Walsh Jesuit was 34-of-71 from the floor for 48 percent, including 9-of-13 in the third period and 11-of-14 from the charity stripe for 79 percent.
Theriot paced the Lady Warriors with 16 points, including 12 in the first half.
Goliat (13 points), Offodile (11 points) and McNair (10 points) also scored in double-figures for Walsh Jesuit.
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