Columbiana's Annah Clemmer  goes to the basket against Southeast's Bailey Morris in sectional tournament play Saturday. (Salem News/Gary Leininger)  

By MIKE BROWN

Sports Correspondent

COLUMBIANA — It was the proverbial tale of two halves when Columbiana and Southeast clashed in a Division V sectional championship girls basketball game at Richard Berryman Gymnasium on Saturday night.

In the first half, 10th-seeded Columbiana controlled the tempo and took as much as a 15-point (26-11) lead over the 13th-seeded Pirates with just over two minutes left before halftime.

But in the second half, that all changed. Southeast grabbed the momentum, ramping up its defensive intensity to force several costly turnovers out of Columbiana while rallying for a 42-37 comeback win over the Clippers.

“We’ve got to take care of the basketball, turnovers have been an issue with us at times this year,” said Columbiana coach Dave Crimson. “We just couldn’t stop the bleeding and you’ve got to give them (the Pirates) all the credit in the world. They were aggressive and they were in passing lanes and fighting for rebounds and they hit some big shots down the stretch.”

“Our team had a rough week, half of my kids were out with the flu on Wednesday, so I had a feeling it would be sloppy in the first half,” said Southeast coach Ashley Callihan. “I told them at halftime whatever you do don’t leave regrets, so go out and give it your all, and if you do that you’re not going to have any regrets, and I think they totally switched their mindset in the second half.”

With the victory, the Pirates (16-7) advance to play at No. 7 seed Chagrin Falls (14-9) in a district semifinal at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Columbiana enjoyed another successful season before bowing out with a 17-6 record.

Leading Southeast was junior Jenna Canale who took game-scoring honor with 15 points, including two of the Pirates four three-pointers. She also hit some key shots down the stretch. Teammates Bella Mowery and Natalie Campbell added 10 and eight points, respectively for Southeast.

“Jenna Canale has been the anchor on this team,” said Callihan. “She had a lot of big shots from the outside. She was missing some of her layups that she normally hits, but she found a way to score for her team and I was proud of her for continuing to take shots.

“Natalie Campbell, this was her first game back,” continued Callihan. “She’s been out with an injury about all season, so she brought a great spark off the bench for us.”

Columbiana placed two players in double figures. Annah Clemmer led the Clippers with 13 points, including two treys, while Sydney Spaite finished with 12 points and two triples.

The Clippers went out to a 16-9 lead after the opening period. The Clippers took as much as a 15-point (26-11) advantage and held a 13-point (27-14) lead at halftime.

But Southeast amped up its defensive intensity in the third quarter to outscore the hosts 13-6 and pull within six points (33-27) entering the final period.

“I thought we were going to do enough to get it with a six-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but again they (the Pirates) deserve all the credit,” said the Clippers’ mentor. “We struggled offensively there in that third and fourth quarter and it was just defensively they did a nice job. They were just up in passing lanes and we got uncomfortable.”

The Pirates then outscored the Clippers 15-11 in the final frame and took the lead for good at 38-37 on a layup with just 1:52 remaining. Against Southeast’s defensive pressure, the Clippers then turned the ball over twice in the remaining time and Southeast added a layup by Bella Mowery and two free throws by Bailey Morris to ice the comeback win.

“I’ve seen them on film and they don’t quit and I knew that 13-point (halftime) lead wasn’t necessarily an end all to this game,” said Crismon. “They earned it and they get to move on.”

“I am just so proud of the girls for the comeback that they had,” said Callihan. “We told them play with heart and leave everything you have on the floor and that’s all you can ask for as a coach. “That (getting the 50-50 balls in the second half) was something we talked about at halftime too.”

Despite the tough setback, Crismon praised his entire team for posting a 17-6 record this season.

“Shout-out to my kids, all season long, our mantra is buy in, sell out and I feel like they have done that,” said Crismon. “We had some kids step up and play some big roles this year to fill some voids from last year and I’m just super proud of them.”

SE: 9-5-13-15–42

CO: 16-4- 6-11–37

SOUTHEAST SCORING: Natalie Campbell 3-0-8, Bella Mowery 4-2-10, Leah Mesaros 0-0-0, Lauren Metzgar 0-0-0, Lylia Lavigna 2-2-6, Adrianna Shinsky 0-0-0, Bailey Morris 0-3-3, Cali McPeak 0-0-0, Jenna Canale 6-1-15, Alaina Hutson 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 15, 8-16: 42.

COLUMBIANA SCORING: Evy Rapp 2-0-4, Megan Moser 1-1-4, Sydney Spaite 4-2-12, Annah Clemmer 4-3-13, Camille Jeffries 0-0-0, Tori Waselich 1-0-2, Alexis Davis 1-0-2, Josie Hepler 0-0-0, Madison Janis 0-0-0 TEAM TOTALS: 13, 6-14: 37.

Three-point goals: Southeast 4 (Natalie Campbell 2, Jenna Canale 2); Columbiana 5 (Annah Clemmer 2, Sydney Sprite 2, Megan Moser 1).

Total fouls: Southeast 9, Columbiana 14. Fouled out: none.