Frontier’s Willow Smitley (44) handles the ball during Saturday’s district tournament game against Malvern at Hank Morus Gym. (Photo by Mike Morrison)
NEW MATAMORAS — On Saturday, the Frontier Cougars defeated the Malvern Hornets 57-44, with Kelsey Dye leading the scoring with 17 points. The win means the Cougars move on to the district semifinal on Wednesday.
The game began tightly contested, but Frontier pulled away in the second half. Coach Mike Cisler praised his team’s defensive effort and ball-sharing, noting the improvement since their previous game against Caldwell.
In the first half, both teams were in a fierce battle, with the Cougars ending the first half ahead by six. Junior Anna Bowersock scored the first five points of the game, while sophomore Willow Smitley hit two three-pointers, helping Frontier take an early lead.
Cisler highlighted Smitley’s talent, saying, “Willow is capable of shooting like that all the time, and I was very proud of how she got us started.” Despite leading by eight, the Cougars faced a late push from Malvern, capped by a deep buzzer-beater by Addy Mitchell that closed the quarter.
The second quarter saw back and forth scoring until the Cougars finished strong. Bowersock opened the run with free throws, while Alexis Livingston and Bowersock contributed to the offense.
Bowersock stayed hot after halftime, hitting two three-pointers early. Dye extended the lead with a basket and a three-pointer, pushing the advantage to 15 points. Though Malvern managed to close the gap to 11 before the final quarter, they couldn’t recover.
A standout moment for Dye came in the fourth quarter when she made a spectacular defensive play, chasing down Malvern’s Ella Debo to block a layup.
Frontier shot 26 free throws across the game, making 15, including four straight from Smitley after a foul. Along with her 17 points, Dye recorded six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Bowersock finished with 16 points, while Smitley added 13 and grabbed eight rebounds.
Malvern ends their season with a record of 13-10, led by Debo with 17 points and Katie Kuba with 10. Frontier (14-6) is now set to face a strong Strasburg-Franklin team in the next round, aiming to advance further in the tournament.
Coach Cisler acknowledged the challenge, saying, “They have 21 wins and are one of the top two seeds in the Eastern district. This was one of our goals: to win these first two playoff games and have a shot at playing a great team for a chance to go to the District finals.”
Source link
Local Sports,Frontier continues tourney run with win vs. MalvernSports,Frontier continues tourney run with win vs. Malvern
