Career night from Austria lifts Carroll

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By Dave Long, Contributing Writer Updated 12:45 PM Wednesday, November 30, 2011

TIPP CITY — Kelley Austria’s delivered career-high numbers in points and steals Tuesday night as the Carroll High School girls basketball team defeated Tippecanoe 59-43.

Austria, a 6-foot senior who is considered one of the state’s top guards, had 27 points and, more impressively, 13 steals in a match-up of two of the area’s top Division II teams.

Carroll (2-0), the state runner-up last season, is No. 1 in the Dayton Daily News D-II ratings. Tipp (0-2) is annually a ratings regular and district contender.

Austria, a second team D-II All-Ohio player last season, had 11 points and four steals in the first half as Carroll led 28-27 at halftime.

In the second half, the Patriots went from a man-to-man to zones that switched between a diamond-and-one and triangle-and-two. The purpose of what coach Rob Berry calls his “junk” zones was to control Tipp’s Ellise Sharpe and Morgan Miller.

Miller had 14 points in the first half, 11 in the second quarter. Sharpe, who averaged 17.2 point last season, has six points in the first half along with four assists.

In the second half, Miller didn’t get a shot, and Sharpe had two as she finished with 11 points. The zones allowed Carroll to overplay the passing lanes and take chances on steals.

Austria started the third quarter with a steal to set the tone. She had nine steals in the second half. In the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, she had steals on four straight possessions. She had a basket and free throw off three of the steals. On the other, she got an assist when her cousin, Caroline, nailed a 3-point shot.

“Our defense really got aggressive the second half,” Kelley Austria said. “I didn’t think I had that many steals.”

Susan Wollenhaupt added 11 points and seven rebounds for Carroll. As a team, the Pats had 21 steals, which converted into 38 points.

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