Tori Obenrader had 20 points and 19 rebounds Friday night for North Clarion. Photo by George Powers.
NORTH CLARION 51, UNION 45
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CLARION, Pa. – Thanks to 20 points and 19 rebounds from Tori Obenrader, second-seeded North Clarion overcame a slow start to ward off an upset bid by 10th-seeded Union, 51-45, in the District 9 Class A quarterfinals Friday night at Clarion High School.
Union (11-13) came out strong and scored the game’s first 10 points while taking a 12-4 lead after one quarter. The Golden Damsels still led by one, 22-21, at halftime.
But North Clarion, behind 12 combined points from Abbie Schmader and Obenrader, outscored Union 16-7 in the third quarter to take a 37-29 lead in the fourth quarter.
Lexey Shick had 20 points for Union. Photo by George Powers.
Union hung around and got to as close as three, 41-38, with just over two minutes to play but could get no closer.
Schmader, a senior who was a member of North Clarion’s 1-21 team as a freshman, added 16 points and seven rebounds for the She-Wolves (21-3), who with the win qualify for the PIAA playoffs for the first time since 1986 and only the second time in school history.
Lexey Shick paced Union with 20 points with Kali Flick adding 11.
North Clarion will take on ECC at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 47, NORTHERN POTTER 41
COUDERSPORT, Pa. – Behind 16 points and 15 rebounds from Reilly Herzing, 11th-seeded Elk County Catholic upset third-seeded Northern Potter, 47-41, in the District 9 Class A quarterfinals Friday night at Coudersport High School.
ECC’s victory marks the second straight year the 11th seed has knocked off the third seed. Last year, it was 11th-seeded Clarion beating third-seeded Keystone.
The Lady Crusaders (12-12), who are at .500 for the first time since late January, outscored Northern Potter (17-6) 26-13 in the middle two quarters to get the victory.
Cassidy Cunningham scored eight of her 11 points in the middle two quarters, while Josie Smith had six of her nine and Herzing five of her 16 with all five coming in the third quarter.
Gracie Hamilton led all scorers with 17 points for Northern Potter. She did a lot of her damage in the first and fourth quarters scoring seven first-quarter points to help the Lady Panthers take a 14-8 lead after one. Hamilton then added six fourth-quarter points.
Tory McCutcheon also scored six points in the fourth quarter hitting a couple of threes as Northern Potter tried to rally.
Sarah Morgan added 11 for the Lady Panthers.
ECC will take on second-seeded North Clarion in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
KEYSTONE 56, DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC 47
BROOKVILLE, Pa. – After a year hiatus, Keystone is returning to the PIAA Playoffs after knocking off DuBois Central Catholic, 56-47, in the District 9 Class A quarterfinals Friday night at Brookville High School.
The game was tight throughout with a four-point difference in Keystone’s advantage in both the second and third quarters proving to be the different for the fourth-seeded Lady Panthers (16-7).
The game was tied at 14 after one quarter, but Keystone, thanks in large part to the play of Taylor Geer, took a 28-23 halftime lead.
Taylor Geer, who finished with 21 points and 19 rebounds, had 17 points and 13 rebounds at halftime.
Josselin Geer and Amber Hess then took over in the second half combining to score 14 of Keystone’s 28 second-half points with Josselin Geer finishing with 13 points, nine in the second half, and 13 rebounds and Hess with 11 and seven boards.
Libby Maurer and Stephanie Rossi led a balanced effort for DCC with 10 points each. Riley Assalone added nine tallies for the fifth-seeded Lady Cardinals (16-9).
Keystone, who with the win is the PIAA Playoffs for the fourth time in five years, will try to get back to the D9 title game for the first time since 2014 when it meets top-seeded Coudersport in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday at St. Marys High School.
COUDERSPORT 41, CLARION 32
KANE, Pa. – Top-seeded Coudersport fended off an upset bid by ninth-seeded Clarion to move into the District 9 semifinals for the first time since winning the District 9 title in 2011 with a 41-32 win Friday night at Kane High School.
The Lady Falcons (22-1) trailed 15-14 at halftime after being outscored 10-4 in the second quarter.
But, in the third quarter, Emily Morey scored seven of her 10 points to help Coudersport outscore the Lady Cats (13-11), who were looking for their sixth straight semifinal appearance 13-5 to take control of the game.
Morey also added four assists for the Lady Falcons, who were led by 12 points from Haley Keck, 10 after halftime. Kiara Perkins chipped in eight points, and Ally Easton had four points, six rebounds and six blocked shots.
Anna Reed led Clarion with 11 points with Kelly Beveridge adding nine points and five steals. Gloria Kroh had two points and a game-high 16 rebounds, while Maddy Weaver added two points and five steals.
Coudersport will take on Keystone in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
DISTRICT 4 CLASS A QUARTERFINALS
NORTH PENN-LIBERTY 58, GALETON 50
LIBERTY, Pa. – Despite having three players reach double figures, Galeton lost to North Penn-Liberty, 58-50, in the District 4 Class A quarterfinals Friday night.
Cortney Parsell led Galeton with 15 points. Makaya Shadle added 14 points and Olivia Pagano 12.
