A GRAND AFFAIR
FRANKLIN TWP. — Everything went as grand it could have for Alli Griscavage and Southern Columbia in the opening round of the Class 2A girls basketball playoffs.
Griscavage finished with a game-high 29 points, including the 1,000th point of her career, in the Tigers’ 67-35 thrashing of Elk Lake.
The Tigers (26-1) will play District 11 runner-up Tri-Valley on Friday at a time and place to be determined in the second round. The Bulldogs defeated District 12 runner-up Parkway Northwest, 62-35.
With Griscavage at 24 points and sitting on 999, she drew a foul under the hoop and was rewarded two free throws in the third quarter. Most everyone in attendance knew so, coming to their feet. She drained the first free throw and was embraced by teammates on the court and got a standing ovation by the fans. Elk Lake also pulled its players to give the junior the well-earned spotlight.
“I knew I needed that point, and I didn’t want to miss it,” Griscavage said with a laugh. “... I felt that it was a little less pressure for the rest of the game, not that it really mattered [with the big lead and a lot of game left]. But getting it out the way made it a lot less stressful.”
Southern coach Kam Traugh was happy Griscavage got to have the moment in from of the home spectators.
“I was happy she could get it tonight. I wanted her to get it at home,” she said. “... Whenever you get it, it’s a special moment, but when you’re able to get it at home when you have a lot of support like that, it makes it even more special.”
Though Griscavage enjoyed the moment, she enjoys knowing the Tigers are advancing even more.
“Getting the state win [is more relieving], especially at home,” she said.
Griscavage was a major contributor in such, but two other players — Loren Gehret and Summer Tillett — also finished in double figures scoring.
After some early adjustments going against the Warriors’ full-court press, the trio helped jumpstart things for the Tigers. The team opened the game’s scoring with a 10-0 run, getting six points from Tillett during the stretch. Before the frame’s buzzer sounded, they combined for 21 of the Tigers’ 23 first-quarter points.
The quick start was something Traugh wanted from the team after sluggish play in the District 4 tournament.
“One of the things I said before the game was to come out stronger than we had the last two games,” Traugh said. “I wasn’t too happy about the number of turnovers we had — we were trying to force things that didn’t need to be forced, we were going faster than we needed to. But it was nice to put up the amount of points we did in a state playoff game.”
Gehret finished with 12 points, nine from the free-throw line, while Tillett scored 10.
That offensive domination carried over into the defense. The Warriors had lanes taken away, passes blocked and the ball stolen countless times.
Just before halftime, Elk Lake’s Katie McGlynn had a wide-open lane to the hoop only to be chased down by Gehret and have her layup attempt blocked.
“We have a lot of great defensive players, but Loren is probably the best,” Traugh said. “She reads passes well, has a nose for the ball and knows when to go for it.”
The Tigers held the Warriors to eight or fewer points in three quarters and forced a running clock early in the fourth quarter.
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