File Photo/KRISTIN MAZGAJ SHADYSIDE SENIOR Baylee Wach goes up for a shot during a game earlier this season. Wach scored 18 points Thursday to help the Tigers knock off Monroe Central, 61-44 to complete the season sweep.

SHADYSIDE – There is normally a point in a basketball game that any coach can point to and know that was the defining moment in what turned out to be a win or a loss.

Thursday night, both Shadyside Head Coach Serge Gentile and Monroe Central boss Troy Baker had little trouble understanding that the Lady Tigers’ game-opening 28-5 run over the initial 9:24 of play was the difference maker, especially with the Seminoles outscoring their hosts by a 39-33 margin the remainder of the contest.

Senior Baylee Wach gunned in a game-high 18 points while sophomore Gentry Brown had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds as Shadyside withstood a furious Monroe Central second quarter comeback bid to pull away for a 61-44 repeat victory over the undermanned Seminoles inside the Tigers’ Den.

The hosts scored the initial four points of the game on Wach baskets before Monroe Central junior All-Ohio guard Kalista Friday drained a triple to make it a 4-3 score at 6:05 of the opening frame. Led by 10 points from Brown Shadyside scored the next 16 points to push the lead to 20-3 before a pair of Friday charity tosses temporarily stopped the bleeding. Wach’s bonus bomb at nine seconds made it 23-5 after a chapter.

Another Wach bomb to begin the second followed by a Paige Gorby hoop made it a 28-5 advantage with 6:36 to go in the half. Regan Hamilton’s basket at 6:12 stopped an almost eight-minute field goal drought before another Friday hoop made it 28-9. Wach’s third triple of the first half made it 31-9 before the Seminoles began a 17-0 run, keyed by 11 Friday markers, to cut the margin to 31-26. However, senior Tory Hendershot’s three at the buzzer pushed the lead back to 34-26 at the break.

“They had all the momentum going towards the half and Tory’s buzzer-beater at the end really gave us a little bit of a swing coming back out,” Gentile admitted. “The first quarter we were moving the ball and swinging it around quick which allowed us to get off to a good start, but we went to a zone to start the second so we wouldn’t wear out and we lost some assignments.

“She (Friday) is a very good player and if you lose her and let her get going, she can hurt you and it really got them going as a team. But after a bad quarter we were able to get back to doing what we do in the third.”

Friday, who finished with a game-high 28 points, scored 13 in the Seminoles’ big second quarter.

Monroe Central (6-3) was able to keep things close midway through the third, trailing just 40-35 on a Morgan Kendall basket at 3:55 before the Tigers closed the frame on a 9-0 run, which included triples from Wach and Kamden Elerick, to make it 49-35 heading to the fourth.

A quick Friday three out of the gate in the fourth was the closest the visitors could get the remainder of the way with a late 7-0 burst putting the finishing touches on Shadyside’s sixth win in seven outings.

“Once again we did an outstanding job on the boards with Paige (Gorby) and Gentry (Brown) both doing an awesome job inside,” Gentile added. “They really put in the work and battle in and come up with some second-chance baskets. And Tory (Hendershot) can chase down rebounds all over and always does a great job.”

Hendershot finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for the winners while Gorby had eight points and nine rebounds. Shadyside owned a 36-19 edge off the glass and turned the ball over 17 times, two more than their guests.

“We have been playing without a few starters for a while now, so we are continuing to get new bodies on to the floor,” Baker admitted. “And not to take anything away from Shadyside’s defense but a lot of our turnovers were due to inexperience and not being patient on the offensive end.

“You can’t dig a hole like we had against good teams and Shadyside is a good team. At the same time, I am proud of how our girls battled back. We did a better job settling down in the second half and made some shots that weren’t falling in the first half.

“Tory Hendershot is one of the best point guards in the Valley and Wach has done a great job for them for four-years so they are a good and experienced group.”