DuBOIS, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Anna Merry was in need of a little pep talk.
Bri Heller was happy to give her one.
Merry, a senior guard on the Otto-Eldred girls basketball team, found herself in something of a shooting funk in the first half against Bishop Guilfoyle on Wednesday night in the second round of the PIAA Class A playoffs at DuBois High School.
And the Terrors found themselves down 17-16 in the halftime locker room.
“I was frustrated because I couldn’t make a basket,” said Merry, who wasn’t very merry during the break. “Bri Heller kept saying, ‘They’re gonna fall. Keep shooting.'”
So, Merry did.
She hit three big 3-pointers over a six-minute span in the third and fourth quarters to help Otto-Eldred to a 49-37 win over Bishop Guilfoyle and another trip to the state quarterfinals.
“None of my teammates gave up on me,” Merry said. “And when Katie (Sheeler) passed that ball out to me, I felt it, and I was like, ‘This is going in.’ I knew from making those 3s, we had the game and I knew when my teammates made their shots, I said to myself, ‘We are winning this.'”
Sheeler had kept the Terrors (25-2) in the game in the first half with 11 of the team’s 16 points.
She ended up with a game-high 20.
Otto-Eldred led 28-25 heading into the fourth quarter when Merry and the rest of the team got hot to pull away and book a date with Berlin Brothersvalley on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
Last year, the Terrors fell in the quarterfinal round 77-30 to eventual state runner-up Kennedy Catholic.
“Getting back to the quarterfinal means so much,” Merry said. “We lost to an extremely good team last year and after that loss, we worked hard every single practice because we said that we are coming back next year and hopefully making it to the state championship game.
Merry finished with 11 for Otto-Eldred in the win over Bishop Guilfoyle.
It was almost like a home game for the Terrors.
The Otto-Eldred boys had just finished off Serra Catholic, 61-44, in a Class 2A game to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. They stayed to cheer on the girls team.
The stands were a sea of blue and gold despite the nearly 200-mile round-trip trek from Duke Center to DuBois.
“The whole community came out tonight,” Sheeler said. “It was packed in there and the boys got to cheer for us.”
One of the keys, Sheeler said, to the victory was a change on defense.
Otto-Eldred went to a zone just before the half, which clogged up the lanes to the hoop Bishop Guilfoyle was exploiting early.
“Their team was really good at driving and they were tiring us out,” Sheeler said. “We switched to that zone and it definitely helped. And our shots were finally starting to fall.
“Everyone pitched in to get this win,” Sheeler added. “Everyone did what they needed to do.”
WILLIAMSBURG 48, DuBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC 45 (OT)
The Cardinals put a scare into the one-loss, District 6 champions, but suffered a painful overtime defeat in the Class A playoffs.
Jade Carper grabbed a rebound after two missed shots that could have tied the game in the waning seconds of regulation and hit a short jumper at the buzzer to force overtime at 43-43.
The Pirates have now won 28 straight games.
Williamsburg (28-1) will play Union-New Castle in the quarterfinals on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
UNION-NEW CASTLE 39, ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 35
The Crusaders held Union-New Castle, the District 7 champions, to just nine points in the first half, but couldn’t hold onto a double-digit lead in the third in a heartbreaking loss in the Class A playoffs at Tippin Gym.
ECC led 17-9 at the half and 21-9 in the third quarter before taking a 25-19 advantage into the fourth.
But the Scotties erupted for 20 points in the final eight minutes to pull out the win.
Lucy Klawuhn led the Crusaders with 13 points. Emily Mouer added 12.
Kelly Cleaver led Union-New Castle, which will play Williamsburg in the quarterfinals on Saturday at a site and time to be determined, with 14 points. Kylie Fruehstorfer added 13 for the Scotties.
BOYS
Otto-Eldred used a 13-1 run over the second and third quarters to build a sizable lead over Serra Catholic on the way to a 61-44 victory at DuBois to send the Terrors on to the Class 2A quarterfinals.
Shene Thomas scored 16 points to lead Otto-Eldred.
The Terrors started slowly, but led Serra Catholic 12-9 after the first quarter and went into the half up 22-18 thanks to a second-quarter, buzzer-beating drive and layup by Thomas.
Midway through the third quarter, Otto-Eldred moved ahead 34-21 and stretched that lead even further to 43-26 heading into the fourth.
It’s the first trip to the PIAA quarterfinals for the Terrors.
Landon Francis and Brax Caldwell both scored 13 for Otto-Eldred, which will take on District 10 champion Erie First Christian on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
Isiah Petty scored 14 points and Elijah Ward added 13 for Serra Catholic.
NESHANNOCK 44, BROOKVILLE 40
The Lancers went on a run at the end of the second quarter to grab a 23-21 lead at the half and held off the Raiders over the final two quarters to move on in the Class 3A playoffs.
Neshannock led 39-31 midway through the fourth quarter before Brookville made one last push, closing the gap to 41-40 with 31 seconds remaining.
The Lancers, though, were able to turn the Raiders away and tacked on four free throws to win.
Clayton Cook led Brookville with 14 points. Jack Pete added 11 before fouling out.
Jack Giles scored 15 to pace Neshannock, which will take on Deer Lakes in a battle of WPIAL teams on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
