STAC GIRLS BASKETBALL: THIRD-QUARTER OUTBURST CARRIES OWEGO PAST ONEONTA (December 19, 2025)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — Owego erupted for 21 third-quarter points and went on to defeat Oneonta, 51-40, in STAC girls basketball action here Friday night.
The turnaround from a slow start — the Yellowjackets scored the game’s first eight points — didn’t come as a surprise to coach Luke McEvoy.
“Same scenario as our game from Wednesday night against Windsor,” he said. “Not the best first half on our end defensively. On offense, I thought we got good shots similarly against Windsor as well too, and they just didn't fall for us, so I was pretty confident that our shots would start going in.
“We also wanted to focus on getting the ball inside where I thought we had a pretty good presence with both Marielle (Searles) and Eva (Crawford), and then that opens up the kick-outs on the outside shots. I think the defensive intensity picked up which helped us on the offensive end.”
Jenna McEvoy’s 3-pointer, the first of four for the sophomore guard, came at 4:10, then Oneonta scored five more to build its biggest advantage of the evening at 13-3.
The River Hawks would trim the lead to 16-9 by quarter’s end, then outscored the Jackets, 13-11, in the second period to make it a 27-22 contest at the half.
Owego looked like a totally different team in the third quarter as Marielle Searles pumped out 10 points, controlling play in the paint.
“She did a nice job inside,” said coach McEvoy. II think a positive for us tonight was they were missing one of their other forwards, the Carr girl wasn't here tonight which would have caused us some more problems when they've got both of them in there.
“LaFever is a tough matchup inside but I thought it looked like she was kind of maybe holding back a little bit to make sure she stayed in the game and pick up some fouls, so that's why we kind of kept going inside, and Marielle did a nice job and Eva did a nice job in there as well too.”
Jenna McEvoy canned a pair of treys, Eva Crawford added three points and Ashlyn Dalton tacked on a basket.
Jenna McEvoy seemed to be on target with her long-range shots when she had time to set up.
“She's been shooting the ball pretty consistently and I would agree with you on the setup and not rushing shots,” coach McEvoy said. “There's a couple of them too where I thought, and I know coach (Christian) Sage was on there a little bit as well, to get the ball inside.
“Again, vice versa, when we get it in, we get nice kick-outs and then when they're running we've got nice post-up opportunities. We've got to see a little bit more of that, and that'll come as we get a little bit more comfortable with each other and figure some things out.”
Oneonta’s Kendall LaFever scored the first bucket of the second half, but the River Hawks responded with a nine-point run, taking its first lead at 31-29 on a Jenna McEvoy three.
LaFever got a point back on a free throw, but Searles answered with a basket and a three-ball from the top of the key to make it a 36-30 contest. The Jackets’ Ella Harper answered with a three, but Searles, Crawford and Dalton teamed up for the final seven points of the period.
Not to be overshadowed by its offense, an aggressive Owego defense shut down Oneonta in the final frame, allowing just one field goal.
Likewise, the River Hawks had trouble finding the inside of the rim, picking up another Jenna McEvoy trey and a Katelyn Dodge basket whileSearles went 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.
With the win, Owego improved to 5-1 on the season. In addition to Searles’ double deuces, the River Hawks received 15 points from Jenna McEvoy, eight from Crawford, and two points each from Dalton, Dodge and Jana Nikulich.
Oneonta, which won its season opener, but has been plagued by knee injuries, including one in this game, fell to 1-5.
Owego is off until Dec. 27 when it heads south of the border to compete in the Athens tournament.
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IN PHOTO 1: Marielle Searles (24). IN TOP PHOTO: The reserves watch the action. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
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