ST. MARYS, Pa. – Using a game-ending 13-2 run over the final three-plus minutes, sixth-seeded Clarion rallied to beat Port Allegany, 56-50, in the District 9 Class 2A quarterfinals at St. Marys High School.
(Photo: Kait Constantino comes away with a steal during Clarion’s win over Port Allegany. Constantino finished with 26 points. Photo by Kim Constantino)
The Lady Cats (14-9) trailed 48-43 following a basket by Port Allegany freshman Evin Stauffer with 4:02 to play and things looked bleak when Kait Constantino missed a shot at the 3:28 mark with the rebound going out of bounds to Port Allegany.
Relisten to the game:
But in a full-court press, Payton Simko intercepted a Lady Gators’ pass and fed Constantino, who was fouled taking a 3-pointer with about 3:20 to play by Gracie Archer. Constantino hit all three shots to get Clarion within two, 48-46.
Then, after the Lady Cats got a stop on defense, KK Girvin scored and was fouled hitting the free throw to put Clarion ahead, 49-48, for the first time since late in the first half with 3:05 to play.
Girvin then went on to hit 3 of 4 free throws in a 14-second span with just under a minute to play to expand the lead to four, 52-48, before Constantino salted the contest away with four free throws in the final 26.7 seconds.
Constantino led all scorers with 26 points and hit five 3-pointers and hauling down eight rebounds while being named the Hager Paving Player of the Game. She talked about the win.
Girvin added 18 points tying her season-high with Jordan Best chipping in eight points and eight rebounds. Simko and Eva Lerch each hauled in six boards with Simko also scoring two points and coming away with that huge steal. Five of Lerch’s rebounds came in the fourth quarter.
Cailey Barnett led Port Allegany (16-7) with 20 points with all 20 coming in the first three quarters including 13 in the first-half helping the Lady Gators take a 28-26 halftime lead. Barnett chipped in six rebounds
Stauffer scored a career-high 15 points while adding six rebounds with Bree Garzel chipping in 11 points to a team-high seven rebounds.
Clarion will take on second-seeded Redbank Valley in the semifinals Wednesday.
Clarion recaps are brought to you by: Delta Contracting & Design/Ace Concrete & Excavating • Burford & Henry Real Estate Services • Tin Town Metal Works • State Representative Donna Oberlander (Paid for by Friends of Donna Oberlander)
Port Allegany recaps are brought to you by: Team Minard • Potter County Family Campground • Close’s Lumber Company
RIDGWAY 39, BROCKWAY 22
DUBOIS, Pa. – Christina Fullem scored 11 of her game-high 13 points in the second half to help top-seeded Ridgway earn their first playoff victory since 1999 with a 39-22 victory over eighth-seeded Brockway in the District 9 Class 2A quarterfinals at DuBois High School.
Relisten to the game:
The Lady Elkers (17-6) led 20-13 at the end of 3 before outscoring the Lady Rovers (12-11) 19-9 in the final eight minutes of play.
Gabbi Rohr added 10 points for Ridgway including six points in the fourth while going 6-for-10 at the charity stripe. She was named the Hager Paving Player of the Game and talked about the win.
Eva Cobaugh added nine tallies in the victory.
Danielle Wood paced the Lady Rovers with nine points in the loss while Macie Smith netted eight.
Ridgway will face fourth-seeded Keystone in the semifinals Tuesday.
Gabbi Rohr – Ridgway
Brockway recaps are brought to you by: Fran Morelli Sales & Service • Lezzer Lumber
KEYSTONE 50, CRANBERRY 43
WEST SUNBURY, Pa. – Using a 7-1 run to close out the third quarter, fourth-seeded Keystone went on to beat fifth-seeded Cranberry, 50-43, in the District 9 Class 2A quarterfinals at Moniteau High School.
The Lady Panthers (15-8) had watched a 29-20 lead early in the third quarter wilt away into a 32-31 deficit with 2:31 left in the quarter before closing the frame on the quick spurt to retake the lead, 38-33, heading to the fourth quarter.
Then in the final eight minutes, Keystone hit 8 of 12 free throws to close out the victory with Emily Lauer collecting eight of her game-high 20 points in the quarter while going 6 of 8 from the line.
Freshman Natalie Bowser added 11 points while helping Keystone to a 24-17 halftime lead by scoring seven first-half points.
Alyssa Dunlap also chipped in 10 points for the Lady Panthers while hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
Ava Ferringer paced Cranberry (13-10) with 16 points with Megan Hadden adding 11. Kaia Dean had five points and eight rebounds.
Keystone will face top-seeded Ridgway in the semifinals Wednesday.
REDBANK VALLEY 37, KANE 25
BROCKWAY, Pa. – Limiting Kane to a miserable 6-for-55 shooting performance, Redbank Valley won its first playoff game since 2015 — also against the Lady Wolves — with a 37-25 win at Brockway Area High School in the District 9 Class 2A quarterfinals.
The Lady Bulldogs (17-7), ended a three-game losing streak and lands in Wednesday’s semifinals against KSAC rival Clarion. Kane, the AML champion, had its seven-game winning streak snapped and season ended at 15-10.
Redbank Valley took the lead for good late in the first quarter and led 11-6, then 17-11 at halftime as both teams were awful shooting the ball — the Lady Bulldogs at 6-for-28 and Kane at 4-for-30.
It didn’t get much better for the Lady Bulldogs — they wound up 13-for-60 for the game — but it did get worse for Kane which missed its first 20 shots in the second half.
Madison Foringer’s basket gave the Lady Bulldogs their largest lead at 30-13 less then two minutes into the third quarter. Kane got it back to 10 points in the final minute of regulation before the Lady Bulldogs set the final margin.
Tara Hinderliter led Redbank Valley with 18 points, connecting on 7 of 11 free throws and going 5-for-12 from the field. Foringer scored six points with a game-high 17 rebounds.
Emily Bucheit led Kane with nine points despite missing 17 of 18 shots from the floor. She was 6-for-13 from the foul line. Ainsley Saf scored seven points with nine rebounds. Sarri Swanson collected a team-high 12 rebounds.
Redbank Valley recaps are brought to you by: Delta Contracting & Design/Ace Concrete & Excavating • Burford & Henry Real Estate Services • Tin Town Metal Works • State Representative Donna Oberlander (Paid for by Friends of Donna Oberlander)
Kane recaps are brought to you by: Team Minard
ST. MARYS 55, BRADFORD 36
KANE, Pa. – Allison Schlimm scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in the third quarter, as St. Marys used a big second half to expand on a three-point halftime lead and get a 55-36 win over Bradford in the District 9 Class 4A semifinals at Kane High School.
The Lady Dutch led 17-14 at halftime but behind Schlimm, who hit a pair of third-quarter 3-pointers, outscored Bradford 18-11 in the quarter to take a 35-25 lead into the final eight minutes.
St. Marys (18-5) then continued to pull away in the fourth quarter outscoring the Lady Owls (10-13) 20-11.
Kyla Johnson added nine points in the win for the Lady Dutch with Megan Quesenberry chipping in eight, including five in the third quarter.
Alanna Benson paced Bradford with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Hannah Lary added 14 points, including going 10 of 10 from the free-throw line.
St. Marys will battle Punxsutawney in the title game at 6 p.m. Thursday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
Bradford recaps are brought to you by: Team Minard • Potter County Family Campground • Close’s Lumber Company
Full coverage of District 9 teams in the basketball postseason can be found here.
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Lezzer Lumber • Delta Contracting & Design/Ace Concrete & Excavating • Team Minard • Fran Morelli Sales & Service • Burford & Henry Real Estate Services • Potter County Family Campground • Close’s Lumber Company • Tin Town Metal Works • State Representative Donna Oberlander (Paid for by Friends of Donna Oberlander) • 120 Pub and Grub in Clearfield • Campbell Bus Lines
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