Knights crush Berries, Oilers struggle against Harbor Creek

The Franklin girls jumped out to score their first basket within 10 seconds of tipoff and never looked back as they defeated the Berries 43-22 on the opening night of the Cranberry's holiday tournament. 

The Knights built a commanding lead of 18-3 at the end of the first quarter. The Berries had their strongest showing in the second quarter outscoring the Knights and cutting the deficit to 11 heading into the locker room 23-12. 

In the second half, Franklin doubled up Cranberry, scoring 20 points to the Berries' 10, ending the  game with a 43-22 win.  

​Sophomore Kate Boal paced the Knights, scoring the first points in three out of the four quarters. Boal finished the evening with 14 points. Junior Estella Adams sunk a pair of treys on her way to a 12-point showing for Franklin. 

Also contributing to the Knights' effort were juniors Kirsten Hicks with seven, Jamie Blum with six, and Jennifer Blum with three. 

Leading a balanced attack for the Cranberry was senior Mariah Wessell, with six and sophomore Keelie Schneider with five. Sophomore Allison Rembold and freshman Jadyn Schumaker recorded four points apiece. Rounding out the Berries scorers were freshman Elena Garland with four and senior Kendell Findlay with one.

In the opening game of the tournament, Oil City fell to a tough Harbor Creek 70-16. The Oilers, who had fallen behind 39-12 at the half, managed only four points in the second half of the game. ​​

Franklin, which now has a 5-3 record on the year, will meet Harbor Creek in the tournament final at 7:30 p.m; and Cranberry (2-7) will face off against Oil City (4-4) in the consolation at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Cranberry High School. 

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