Pleasant will share MOAC Red Division title

MARION - The Pleasant girls basketball team bounced back from a tough nonleague loss Tuesday to defeat Galion 66-17 Saturday night and claim a share of the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference Red Division title.

The Spartans (20-2, 13-1) tied a school record for most wins in the regular season; the 2008-09 Pleasant team finished the regular season with a 20-0 slate. Pleasant has won or shared 10 MOAC titles.

Pleasant, the fourth-ranked team in the Associated Press Division III poll, share this year’s title with North Union.

Pleasant dropped an MOAC Red Division game to North Union early in the year and then ran off 17 straight wins before the loss to Upper Scioto Valley.

“We did not let that early loss define us,” Pleasant coach Nate Dendinger said. “We kept our focus. Winning the league was our No. 1 goal, and we worked hard to make that happen.”

Dendinger has guided the Spartans to three titles during his seven years. The Spartans are 101-58 during his tenure.

The Spartans jumped out early and pushed ahead to a 37-7 halftime lead. Galion was just 1 of 20 from the field in the opening half, and that basket was a 3 by Taylor Valentine to start the second period. The Tigers (5-15, 0-14) had four free throws in the first period.

Pleasant put five players in the scoring column in the first half. Leah Maniaci came off the bench to score 10 in the first 16 minutes. Kamryn Kimmel added nine points in the opening two periods. Pleasant was 15 of 31 from the field before the intermission.

The lead ballooned to 42 points late in the third quarter and was up to 51 late in the fourth chapter.

“I could not wait for the clock to hit zero,” Dendinger said about the second half. “I wanted to allow the girls to celebrate all the hard work they put in to make this happen.”

Maniaci led the winners with 16 points, while Kimmel added 13 and Summer Blevins finished with 11. Ten Spartans scored in the game.

Valentine topped the Tigers with eight points.

It was Senior Night for Hannah Peltier, Kimmel, Karmen Linder and Jaden Mauk, as they played their final home regular season game. Despite losing the group of seniors for next season, the future still looks bright for the Spartans.

Pleasant defeated Galion 41-18 in the junior varsity game. The Pleasant reserves finished the season with a 19-2 record. Ericka Linder scored 10 to lead the Pleasant effort, while Kelsey Hoffman rolled in seven for Galion.

Dendinger said the four seniors created a great environment for the younger players to grow this year.

“Those four have been leaders on the court, and they have been leaders in the classroom," he said. “I could not have asked for more from those four girls. They set a great example all year long, and the younger players followed that.”

Pleasant now sets its focus on the tournament trail. Pleasant is home with Heath for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday.

“It’s a different kind of focus. It’s one and done, and we have to be ready for that,” Dendinger said. “I think we will have a different kind of focus in our practices before that game.”

Stat book

Galion 4 3 4 6-17

Pleasant 18 19 14 15-66

Galion: Gabby Kaple 0 2 2, Dani Schieber 1 0 2, Gracie Groves 0 2 2, Taylor Valentine 2 2 8, Natalie Rodriguez 0 1 1, Julie Clouse 0 2 2. 3-36 FG, 9-12 FT, 2-15 3pt. (Valentine 2), 28 rebounds (Schieber 5), 29 turnovers.

Pleasant: Hannah Peltier 1 0 3, Summer Blevins 4 3 11, Ashley Anderson 2 0 4, Nicole Verity 1 0 2, Kamryn Kimmel 5 2 13, Leah Maniaci 7 2 16, Karmen Linder 3 0 6, Erika Linder 1 0 2, Emmerson Davis 0 2 2, Jaden Mauk 3 1 7. 27-57 FG, 10-17 FT, 2-7 3pt. (Peltier, Kimmel), 37 rebounds (Blevins 9), 11 turnovers.