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Lisbon recovers to top Range

South Range’s Felicia Gaeta looks for room to dribble as Lisbon’s Autumn Oehlstrom defends on Saturday in a Div. III sectional final. (Salem News/Joe Catullo)

LISBON — For every accomplishment and record Lisbon senior Karlee Pezzano earned throughout her four-year career, nothing compared to her flawless play in the last minute of Saturday’s matchup with South Range.

When the Blue Devils trailed by four points with 54 seconds remaining, Pezzano put the team on her back.

“My legs were shaking,” she said. “I was nervous, but I knew had to step it up for my team. I knew we could finish the game on top. We just had to stay calm, did what we had to do, and it turned out in our favor.”

Pezzano scored the last six points of the game and forced a steal in-between to lift Lisbon to a 65-63 victory in a Division III sectional final. It is the Blue Devils’ first sectional title since 2014 as they improved to 19-5 on the season.

South Range (12-12) led 63-59 when Pezzano began her run. She hit a tough shot with 39 seconds left that cut the deficit to two. Ten seconds later, she collected her sixth steal of the contest, drew a foul and nailed both free throw attempts to tie the game.

“That turnover was big. We gave them two shots to tie it,” South Range coach Tony Matisi said.

After the Raiders traveled with 20 seconds remaining, Pezzano dribbled from South Range’s basket all the way to hers. She slipped by an Izzy Perez pick and drew another foul with three seconds left. She made two more free throws.

“Karlee showed what kind of player she is,” Lisbon coach Jaimie Entrikin said. “When the game is on the line, she’s going to get it done one way or another. She did today. She’s got ice in her veins.”

After a timeout, the Raiders got the shot they wanted but missed to end the game. Two halfcourt passes led to a Marlaina Slabach opportunity, but it rimmed out.

“It never works in girls high school basketball, but I thought we executed it fabulously,” Matisi said. “We wanted our two wings from the halfcourt dive with (Emily Kuper) bringing it up. We got the shot we wanted. It was right there. The clock seemed to go really slow too, which the home clock never does. The shot just didn’t fall.”

Lisbon also held a four-point lead in the fourth quarter before letting it slip away. It led 57-53 with 3:20 left when Slabach hit a three-pointer and Rachel Maynard hit a long two to give the Raiders a 58-57 advantage.

Later on, Lisbon and South Range were tied at 59-59 with 1:47 left on the clock. A Blue Devil turnover turned into a Raider layup. Slabach later hit two free throws to put her team up by four.

“When we get we really don’t say much,” Pezzano said. “Sometimes we shut down, but I think this game meant too much that we knew we had to get out of the downhill we were going in. We had to come back out and play our hearts out.”

Pezzano led with a game-high 30 points, six assists and four steals. Alexa Bell contributed 13 points. Maddie Liberati had nine points and eight rebounds off the bench. Perez recorded seven assists and five steals, while Autumn Oehlstrom added seven points and nine boards.

“We took that four-point lead, but Pezzano is a hell of a player,” Matisi said. “It’s been a pleasure coaching against her for four years. She’s the nicest kid in the world and deserves everything she gets. I thought we should have been more patient with the four-point lead. We lost our composure a little bit.”

For the Raiders, they were without Maddie Durkin and would have been for districts. Her injury began in the last regular season game against Canfield on Feb. 15. She played a few minutes in the sectional opener against East Palestine on Wednesday but had to leave.

“Her gallbladder is ready to explode and she is having surgery on Tuesday,” Matisi said. “Doctors said she could try to play. We tried. We decided to pull the plug.”

Bri Modic took her spot and had 14 points (8-of-10 free throws). Slabach recorded 14 points herself (four three-pointers) off the bench. Taylor Naples was the third Raider with 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Kate Yeagley had a game-high 10 rebounds.

“We prepared for her the last few days, and her out changed what we wanted to do,” Entrikin said on Durkin. “For them to not have their best player and play the way they did, it shows you what kind of a coach Matisi is. He had them ready to go, and they played with a lot of confidence. We knew they had a lot of good shooters.”

Lisbon’s comeback victory sets them up for another rematch with top-seeded Columbiana in a district semifinal at 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday in Struthers. Columbiana defeated Campbell Memorial 85-21 on Saturday.

“I’m not shocked,” Entrikin said. “We’ve had two good games against them. The kids get excited playing against them. I didn’t go up to the Ursuline side of the bracket. I went down on this side thinking ‘Let’s take our chances a third time.’ We know what we’re getting when we play them.”

“We’re more than excited to get them for a third time,” Pezzano said. “We’ve been looking at them ever since we lost to them the first time. It’ll be a great game.”

Game notes

• The Raiders only made six field goals (three three-pointers) in the first half. What kept them in the game was their 12-of-16 free throw mark.

• Lisbon got a lucky bounce to end the third quarter with a 48-41 advantage. During a broken play with seconds remaining in the frame, Oehlstrom collected the loose ball and banked a long three-pointer near the scorer’s table.

• Saturday marked the second time this season South Range lost by two in Lisbon. The Blue Devils won 64-62 on Nov. 28. It was the Raiders’ first game of the year and second for Lisbon. Durkin had a game-high 23 points.

• Columbiana defeated Lisbon 68-62 on Jan. 9 in Columbiana. Pezzano recorded her 1,000th career point that night. The Clippers turned in a 98-97 double overtime victory on Jan. 29 in Lisbon.

S RANGE: 9-18-14-22–63

LISBON: 18-14-16-17–65

SOUTH RANGE SCORING: Kate Yeagley 1-1-3, Emily Kuper 3-0-7, Bri Modic 2-10-14, Rachel Maynard 1-0-2, Marlaina Slabach 4-2-14, Samantha Patrone 2-5-9, Taylor Naples 4-4-14, Felicia Gaeta 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 17, 20-26: 63.

LISBON SCORING: Karlee Pezzano 9-8-30, Mackenzie Mason 1-2-4, Alli Davis 0-2-2, Alexa Bell 6-0-13, Autumn Oehlstrom 2-2-7, Chloe Smith 0-0-0, Izzy Perez 0-0-0, Maddie Liberati 4-1-9, Hailee Carpenter 0-0-0, Cadee Johnson 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 26, 15-22: 65.

Three-point goals: South Range 9 (Kuper, Modic 2, Slabach 4, Naples 2), Lisbon 6 (Pezzano 4, Bell, Oehlstrom).

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