KITTANNING, Pa. – In Keystone’s PIAA opening-round win over Cambridge Springs, the Lady Panthers shot lights out.
(Photo of Keystone’s Emily Lauer, who had 16 points in the loss to Bishop McCort Tuesday. Photo by Diane McMunn. See more of McMunn’s work here)
Unfortunately for Keystone, the same could not be said Tuesday night in a 73-34 loss to Bishop McCort in the second round of the PIAA Class 2A tournament at Armstrong High School.
Relisten to the game:
The Lady Panthers (17-10), the second-place team out of District 9, hit just 4 of 23 first-half shots (17.4 percent) and finished the game shooting 23.9 percent (11 of 46) while only making more than two baskets in one quarter, the third when Keystone went 5 of 10 from the field.
“Sometimes, basketball, you are playing yourself as much as much as you are playing the other team,” Keystone head coach Josh Almes said. “We were struggling to get shots. We were finding the front of the rim almost every single time there in the first half. But, hey, the girls fought hard, played until the end. I’m proud of them.”
That coupled with an inability to keep Bishop McCort (16-11), the fourth-place team out of District 6, off the offensive – the Crushers had 22 offensive rebounds while outrebounding Keystone 40-31 – led to a long night for the Lady Panthers.
“We were having trouble getting our hands on the rebounds early,” Almes, whose team was outrebounded 21-7 in the first quarter including allowing 14 offensive boards, said. “That allowed them to build that quick lead.”
Despite Keystone’s first-half shooting issues coupled with a turnover problem – the Lady Panthers gave the ball away 14 times in the opening half – it was still down just three, 7-4, following an Emily Lauer basket with 2:26 to play in the first quarter.
But Bishop McCort ended the quarter with a 10-3 spurt to take a 17-7 lead and then started the second quarter on a 13-0 run to increase the advantage to 30-7 just before the four-minute mark of the quarter.
“They have a lot of speed on the outside,” Almes said. “I give them credit, they threw a mean outlet pass. Even after our layups, they were right in our face at halfcourt. We were having trouble getting girls turned around in time. We just weren’t used to that kind of speed.”
By halftime, the Crushers lead was 40-13, and my the end of the third quarter it was 61-29.
“I love this team,” Almes said. “It’s the best team I have ever coached. We are ready to lock and reload for next year.”
Alexis Smith led Bishop McCort with a game-high 21 points with Bailey Shriver adding 15 points, including eight in the second quarter, Bella Hunt 10 points and seven rebounds and Mikalya Martin eight points. Bria Bair grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds, all before halftime, to go with four points.
Emily Lauer paced Keystone with 16 points while going 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. She scored the first seven points of the game for the Lady Panthers and also finished with six rebounds. Jozee Weaver added nine points and seven rebounds and Danae Hurrelbrink seven points. Natalie Bowser had two points and seven rebounds.
Bishop McCort will face The Ellis School, a 47-35 winner over Everett, in the quarterfinals Friday, March 13, at a site and time to be announced.
Keystone postseason information is brought to you by: Delta Contracting & Design/Ace Concrete & Excavating • Burford & Henry Real Estate Services • Tin Town Metal Works • Wired Outdoors • State Representative Donna Oberlander (Paid for by Friends of Donna Oberlander) • Hunter Station Golf Club and Restaurant • Bill’s Service/Elite Exterior Cleaners
BISHOP MCCORT 73, KEYSTONE 34
Score by Quarters
Keystone 7 6 16 5 – 34
B. McCort 17 24 20 12 – 73
KEYSTONE – 34
Katie LaCaze 0 0-0 0, Emily Lauer 4 8-9 16, Maddie Dunlap 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Dunlap 0 0-0 0, Danae Hurrelbrink 2 2-2 7, Jozee Weaver 4 1-2 9, Natalie Bowser 1 0-0 2, Jessica Servey 0 0-0 0. Toals 11 11-13 34.
BISHOP MCCORT – 73
Bella Hunt 5 0-0 10, Bailey Shriver 6 0-0 15, Mikaya Martin 4 0-0 8, Hailee Janidlo 0 0-0 0, Bria Briar 1 2-4 4, Alexis Smith 9 1-4 21, Ally Diamond 3 0-0 6, Emily Ream 1 0-0 2, Lauren Selfridge 2 0-0 5,Reagan McClurkin 0 0-0 0, Allyanna Stephens 1 0-0 2, Kierstin Way 0 0-0 0. Totals 32 3-8 73.
Three-pointers: Keystone 1 (Hurrelbrink). Bishop McCort 6 (Shriver 3, A. Smith 2, Selfridge)
BELLWOOD-ANTIS 83, REDBANK VALLEY 54
DUBOIS, Pa. – For three of the four quarters Tuesday night at DuBois High School, Redbank Valley looked like it belonged on the court with two-time defending state champion Bellwood-Antis.
Unfortunately for the District 9 champion Lady Bulldogs, the third quarter was a rough one.
Relisten to the game:
Redbank Valley was outscored 25-8 in the third quarter, and that was a large reason an otherwise close game turned into a 29-point victory for Blue Devils, 83-54, in the second round of the PIAA Class 2A tournament.
Prior to the third quarter, Redbank Valley was right in the game and trailed by just 11, 42-31, at halftime.
But in the third quarter, the Blue Devils (26-2), the third-place team out of District 6, showed why they have won back-to-back state titles putting any doubt to who the superior team was by increasing the lead to 67-39 by the end of the quarter.
Alli Campbell, Bellwood-Antis’ sensational senior guard who is headed to Notre Dame, scored her 3,000 career point in the contest and netted a game-high 35 points while hitting five 3-pointers. Campbell needed just 16 points entering the game to reach the rare air of 3,000 points and finished the night with 3,019.
Emilie Leidig added 22 points in the win for the Blue Devils while hitting four tripes of her own with Macy Decker chipping in eight points and Jaidyn McCracken seven.
Lauren Smith and Tara Hinderliter each scored 14 points for Redbank Valley (20-8) with Madison Foringer adding 12 points and Alivia Huffman eight.
Hinderliter finished her career with 1,401 career points, the second-most in school history behind her sister, Brooke, who scored 1,997.
Bellwood-Antis will play Penns Manor, a 46-39 winner over West Middlesex, in the quarterfinals Friday, March 13, at a site and time to be announced.
Redbank Valley postseason information is 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) • District Judge Jeff Miller • Hunter Station Golf Club and Restaurant • Joe’s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant in New Bethlehem • Pat Merwin Realty • Bill’s Service/Elite Exterior Cleaners
BELLWOOD-ANTIS 83, REDBANK VALLEY 54
Score by Quarters
Bellwood-Antis 21 21 25 16 – 83
Redbank Valley 14 17 8 15 – 54
BELLWOOD-ANTIS – 83
Macy Decker 2 2-2 8, Jayden Shuke 2 0-0 4, Jaidyn McCracken 3 0-0 7, Emilie Leidig 7 4-4 22 Alli Campbell 13 4-7 35, Sakeria Haralson 1 1-2 3, Chelsea McCaulsky 1 0-1 2, Lydia Worthing 1 0-0 2, Olivia Musselman 0 0-0 0, Alexis Lovrich 0 0-0 0, Katie Robinson 0 0-0 0, Dakota Woomer 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 11-16 83.
REDBANK VALLEY – 54
Emma Huffman 1 0-0 2, Claire Clouse 1 0-0 2, Madison Foringer 6 0-0 12, Tara Hinderliter 6 2-4 14, Lauren Smith 4 5-6 14, Alivia Huffman 4 0-2 8, Caylen Rearick 1 0-0 2, Alyssa Bowser 0 0-0 0, Ryleigh Evans 0 0-0 0, Ryleigh Smathers 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Hetter 0 0-0 0, Karlee shoemker 0 0-0 0, Megan Gourley 0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Edmonds 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 7-12 54.
Three-pointers: Bellwood-Antis 12 (Campbell 5, Leidig 4, Decker 2, McCracken). Redbank Valley 1 (Smith)
Full coverage of District 9 teams in the basketball postseason can be found here.
D9Sports.com’s District 9/PIAA basketball playoff coverage Powered by Lezzer Lumber is brought to you by:
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 • Hunter Station Golf Club and Restaurant
Fall Sports
Rocky Grove and Lakeview Team Up for Mason
