Abbie Knapp
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Brock Netter

Brock is SOSA's primary writer and has worked for the Coshocton Tribune, the Kankakee Daily Journal (Ill.), the Vinton-Jackson Courier and the Jackson Telegram. He's a six-time award-winning journalist, a lifelong WWE fan, a suffering Bengals fan and calls the sidelines his home.

Green knocks off Notre Dame, snaps Titans’ 126-game SOC win streak

The Bobcats move to 12-1 overall.

Brock Netter, Staff Writer

Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.

FRANKLIN FURNACE — December 11, 2014. 

Notre Dame took a 49-45 loss to Western that night, and since, the Titans have have run the table in conference play.

A literal decade of dominance — one that includes 126 consecutive wins in SOC play — is what that loss led to.

But all good things must come to an end.

A Thursday night date with Green inside the Furnace eventually spelled out that end. 32 minutes of basketball later and the streak is officially over. 

Led by a 29-point, 15-rebound performance from Abbie Knapp, the Bobcats (12-1, 2-0 SOC I) put together a wire-to-wire win and held off a furious rally to nail down a 57-54 victory.

Green’s Matti Hayslip shoots during the Bobcats’ win over Notre Dame on Thursday.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA

“This is a huge victory, not just for the program, but for our seniors who have never beaten Notre Dame before. I couldn’t be any happier with the way we battled,” Green coach Melissa Knapp said. “These sophomores only lost to Notre Dame one time in junior high, so they came in expecting to win despite losing to them as freshmen last season. They wanted to win this game for our seniors, and I’m so proud of this team.” 

Abbie Knapp’s performance has been her routine all season. But what’s more impressive is that she scored 27 of Green’s final 41 points on Thursday. 

Having said that, Knapp was quiet in the first quarter, scoring just two points.

But the Bobcats went bombs away from deep. Ava Abrams, Matti Hayslip and Addison Blizzard all connected on triples while Knapp and Mylee Hunt scored inside. 

Those buckets, combined with a defensive effort that held Notre Dame (7-4, 0-1 SOC I) to zero field goals and only four free throws equaled to a 16-4 lead after the first quarter.

“Contain Laney Strickland, that was our goal. Her and Abbie match up very well. They’re both tall, strong and crafty players,” Melissa Knapp said. “She killed us in junior high. But we were moving the ball, hitting shots and playing really active defense. Our energy was really high from the opening tip.” 

After an 0-for-11 start to the night, the Titans eventually found some footing. Strickland, Bree Hicks and Kaylyn Darden each hit 3’s to get back in the game with a 9-2 run, cutting the deficit to 18-13. 

However, the duo of Knapp and Hayslip were too much in the moment to handle. They scored all 11 points for Green in the second, keeping the Bobcats ahead 27-20 at halftime.


PHOTOS: Images from Green’s win over Notre Dame


“We committed some turnovers in the second that allowed them to climb back in,” Melissa Knapp said. “Maybe the nerves kicked in and the realization of what was happening became a little overwhelming. But we laid out three things at halftime: limit turnovers, box out and play defense. We were getting a little tired in the second as well, so we just needed to relax and get back to basics.” 

Both teams traded baskets throughout the third, and the Titans cut the lead to six points at 34-28, following a triple from Darden. But Green answered with Knapp, ending the quarter on an 8-3 spree that pushed the lead back into double digits at 42-31. 

The Bobcats knew they weren’t in the clear, despite being ahead 11 points. Notre Dame was about to kick things into high gear. 

The Bobcats ended the third on an 8-3 run, so the Titans returned the favor and opened with an 8-3 run of their own, capped by a triple from Strickland to bring the game to 45-39.

Turnovers began to mount for Green. Notre Dame kept chipping away and Hicks eventually canned a deep shot to tie the game at 48-48. 

“There wasn’t a moment in this game that I ever felt comfortable, even with a double-figure lead going into the fourth,” Melissa Knapp said. “Notre Dame is way too good of a team and program to just lay down and call it a night. It was going to be a battle and we had to bring it just as hard as they were.” 

Elizabeth McBee drilled a 3, only for Taylor Lasswell to match it on the other end to keep the game tied. Knapp got fouled and hit both free throws to put the Bobcats ahead. A few moments later, Hicks buried another triple to bring the Titans to within 56-54. 

Green then split a pair at the line, and the Titans had a chance to tie. But a full-court heave fell short and sent the Furnace into frenzy with the realization of what the victory meant. 

“All week, I’ve been saying, ‘It’s beat Notre Dame.’ We’ve coached and practiced differently this week, and this win is a culmination of 13 years of hard work,” Melissa Knapp said. “I came back in 2012 and we started up with the peewee program with these players on the team now. We’ve been working on changing the mindset of the program, and a win like this does that. I told our players if we lost, we weren’t getting basketballs out on Friday and they didn’t want to run. So maybe the pressure worked, but I’m so proud of the girls.”

Following Knapp’s final stat line, Hayslip finished with 12 points for Green. For Notre Dame, Hicks finished with 17 points while Strckland had 16 points and eight rebounds. 

Green returns to action on Wednesday at home against Valley. Notre Dame played Athens on Saturday at Shawnee State, suffering a 54-30 loss. The Titans play again on Thursday at home against Clay. 

SPONSORED BY SCHMIDT FAMILY RESTAURANT GROUP

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