An early lead and strong defense was not enough to stop the Lady Dragons on Friday night as the Lady Eagles fell to Central 43-55.

Tyrone jumped out to a big 7-0 lead against the Dragons to open the game.

The Dragons responded with a timeout to regroup. The Dragons then went on an 11-0 run to end the quarter, and Tyrone did not see the lead again.

“We can’t give up a 7-0 lead,” said Tyrone sophomore Kasey Engle.

The game featured a lot of very physical play.  Four Tyrone players fouled out and two players were injured in the game.

“I thought Marissa played really tough defense against McGraw. Everyone fouled too much though,” said Engle.

Sophomore Alexis Cannistraci took a shot to the head and had to exit the game midway through the second quarter. After the game she was diagnosed with a concussion and was unable to return to the game.

“I honestly don’t remember anything about the game,” said Cannistraci of her injury.

As a result, freshman Payton Wagner took the place of Cannistraci, seeing her first extended varsity action of the year.

“I felt nervous and pressured to fill in for Alexis,” said Wagner.

Casey Engle led Tyrone with 21 points.

BOX SCORE:

CENTRAL (55): McGraw 8 9-9 26, Snyder 0 5-6 5, Brumbaugh 0 0-0 0, Long 2 0-1 5, Johnston 6 5-14 17, Mock 0 2-2 2, Kensinger 0 0-2 0. Totals – 16 22-38.

TYRONE (43): Christine 4 3-6 12, Noll 0 0-0 0, Kemp 0 0-4 0, Sprankle 1 3-4 5, Engle 7 5-11 21, Cannistraci 0 0-0 0, Wagner 1 1-2 3, Crabtree 0 0-0 0, Lehman 0 2-2 2. Totals – 13 14-29 43.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central 11 17 9 18 – 55

Tyrone 7 7 14 15 – 43

3-point goals: Central 2 (McGraw, Long); Tyrone 3 (Engle 2, Christine).

Records: Central (2-1); Tyrone (1-2)