SHELBY (Crawford County Now) — The Lady Tigers came out with their claws ready, going up 14-0 over Plymouth in the first four minutes before coasting to a 53-23 win in a girls Division VII district semifinal Thursday night.
Seneca East (16-7) was led by junior guard Izzy Stockmaster, who scored 12 of her game-high 17 points in the opening quarter. Teammate Alexa Snay added 13 points and 4 rebounds, and nine players reached the scoring column for head coach George Parks.
Both players were District 6 first-team selections and Parks was chosen Division VII Coach of the Year.
“Our plan was to jump on them early. They got a couple nice shooters on their team,” Parks said.
“Her and Lexi, she had 7 in that quarter. And Izzy’s 12 and those came naturally. They weren’t forced and that’s when she’s playing her best basketball when it comes natural. She’s the focus of most teams and she came out and answered the bell tonight.”
The Lady Tigers play Lakeside Danbury (21-3) in the district final here on Saturday afternoon. The Lakers handled Lucas, 65-27, in the nightcap.
The quarter ended when sophomore Karli Foos hit an off balance, banked 3-pointer from the left wing to put her team up 26-5.
“We knew looking on paper we might have a couple easier ones, so we’ve been prepping all week.”
Plymouth (6-17) struggled with turnovers against a tenacious press. The Big Red committed 28 turnovers, and the Lady Tigers recorded 13 steals, led by Stockmaster’s 6.
“They can beat you so many ways. They have size and can score around the rim, they can hit 3s. They really pressure you on defense,” Big Red head coach Wes Hockman said.
“We’re a young team and we got here by beating another young team in St. Paul. It’s our first sectional win in 15 years and we got to host a tournament game.”
His team had to make adjustments, including moving post player Cailynn Bailey to the backcourt at point guard.
“For us it’s learning how to control tempo, get the ball in the right places. We’re starting to put some pieces together.”
Junior Addison Slone was one of three Plymouth players with 4 points, along with 3 rebounds.
The Lady Tigers went ahead 43-11 at halftime and played reserves most of the second half.
“We were fortunate in the sectional championship game and tonight, too. It gives us a chance to play them and save our legs too. It’s a two-day turnaround so we can get them some rest,” Parks said.
“We’ll have a light practice tomorrow (Friday), watch some film and clean some things up and be ready to go.”
Luella Burkholder grabbed 6 rebounds, while Foos added 4 and 3 steals.
Seneca East downed Danbury 57-52 in a non-league game in December.
“They jumped on us early on and we came out in the second half and started pushing the ball a little bit,” Parks said of the first meeting.
“Lexi had a big third quarter for us with a couple (of) step-back 3s. Karli Foos sealed the game at the end with 5 of 6 foul shots.”
Parks credited the Northern 10 Athletic Conference schedule with helping get his club ready.
“The N10 is tough. Carey is 17-6 and we beat them twice. Crawford is tough. Every night is a grind. Buckeye’s record is deceiving, and you have Wynford and Upper (Sandusky).”
Box score
Plymouth 5 6 4 8 — 23
Seneca East 26 17 10 0 — 53
Plymouth (6-17): Shots 11-38; 3-pt. shots 1-14 (Kendyll Tolbert); Free throws 0-0; Rebounds 19 (Kendyll Tolbert 4); Turnovers 28. Scoring: Addy Voorhees 1 0 2, Aly Lewis 2 0 4, Cailynn Bailey 1 0 2, Kensley Burrer 2 0 4, Kendyll Tolbert 1 0 3, Addison Slone 2 0 4, Karsyn Steel-Adkins 1 0 2, Madison Montgomery 1 0 2.
Seneca East (16-7): Shots 17-41; 3-pt. shots 4-9 (Izzy Stockmaster 2, Alexa Snay, Karli Foos); Free throws 15-23; Rebounds 27 (Luella Burkholder 6); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Cami Lantz 0 3 3, Jordyn Enders 2 0 4, Alexa Snay 5 2 13, Julia Enders 1 0 2, Madi Smith 0 1 1, Karli Foos 1 2 5, Izzy Stockmaster 6 3 17, Luella Burkholder 1 4 6, Addi Dawson 1 0 2.