Lady Gators advance to WPIAL Class A semifinals
CONNELLSVILLE 无毛视频� As Emma Larkin goes, so does Geibel Catholic.
But on Thursday night at 无毛视频淭he Swamp无毛视频� on the campus of Geibel Catholic Junior/Senior High School, the junior guard was feeling under the weather, but freshman Mallory Clemmer and junior Ava Henderson picked up the slack and overcame a game-high 31 points from Kendra Tharp in defeating West Greene, 60-48, in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class A girls basketball playoffs.
Larkin still managed to lead her team in scoring with 20 points on five field goals (2 three-pointers) and was 8 of 13 at the foul line.
Clemmer put in 16 and Henderson 13.
The Lady Gators (22-1) advanced to Monday无毛视频檚 semifinals against Clairton (17-4) at a site and time to be determined. The winner will play in the final on Feb. 28 at the Petersen Events Center on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. By advancing to the district semifinals, Geibel has clinched a spot in the state playoffs.
无毛视频淓mma has been sick, but we had other players step up,无毛视频� Geibel coach Sara Larkin said. 无毛视频淲e struggled a little bit because Emma didn无毛视频檛 have her normal energy. Mallory is calm and cool. That无毛视频檚 just her personality. I无毛视频檓 never worried about her being nervous. She is an experienced player despite being a freshman.
无毛视频淲e are glad to finally get that monkey off our back and win a playoff game, but we are not done yet. We are ready to keep moving, and we are looking forward to Monday. We will be ready to go.无毛视频�
The Lady Pioneers (16-8) will compete in the consolation round of the WPIAL playoffs on Monday.
无毛视频淔or us to be down double digits a few minutes into the third quarter and to claw back is a testament to the type of kids we have,无毛视频� West Greene coach Ben Brudnock said. 无毛视频淲e don无毛视频檛 necessarily have dedicated basketball players, we have hard-nosed athletes, and they are used to pressure situations. They have been in the playoffs in two sports.
无毛视频淲e wanted to give them a game, and I think we did give them a game. If we would have shot free throws a little better, we would be moving on, but it is what it is. Now, we just have to get ready for the next game, and hopefully, we can win that one and get into the state playoffs.无毛视频�
The Lady Gators won both games over their Section 2 rival in the regular season by 19 points in each contest, but West Greene wasn无毛视频檛 fazed by those two setbacks, and used a 9-0 run in the first quarter for a 9-4 lead after Clemmer made the first two field goals.
无毛视频淚 was nervous at first, but once the jump ball went up, I was fine,无毛视频� Clemmer said. 无毛视频淚t was a great feeling to play at home.无毛视频�
Geibel battled back and tied the game at 13-13 on back-to-back layups from Emma Larkin before the Lady Pioneers took a 15-14 lead heading into the second period.
无毛视频淚t was draining because I do have the flu, but I play a big role on this team,无毛视频� Larkin said. 无毛视频淚 am an upperclassmen, as we only have one senior, so I have been through this (the playoffs) and trying to keep Mallory calm because she无毛视频檚 a freshman, and I know how it feels being a freshman and coming into a playoff game.无毛视频�
Tharp scored her 31 points on 11 field goals, including four 3-pointers, and was 5 of 17 at the foul line. She felt the first two games against the Lady Gators helped prepare her and her teammates for Thursday.
无毛视频淧laying them twice already helped us know who their top players were and who we could attack,无毛视频� Tharp said. 无毛视频淲e normally get a lot of support from the community, especially in big games, so it was nice to see all the fans out there cheering us on.无毛视频�
Geibel had an 18-4 scoring advantage in the second period for a 32-19 halftime lead. Both teams scored 13 points in the third period before the Lady Pioneers edged the Lady Gators, 16-15, in the fourth period.
West Greene cut the deficit to 46-41 after putbacks from Tharp and Madelyn Roberts, and Tharp added another basket after the Lady Pioneers corralled an offensive rebound for a 47-43 lead for Geibel before Larkin nailed a three-pointer for a 50-43 advantage.
West Greene cut the deficit to 50-47 on another putback from Tharp before Clemmer, who is normally a presence in the post, nailed a three-pointer for a 53-47 lead.
无毛视频淲hen we needed some points, she (Clemmer) hit that three,无毛视频� Larkin said. 无毛视频淎nd how many bigs do you see shooting threes? You can not leave Mallory out there.无毛视频�
The Lady Gators were able to close the game out at the foul line.
无毛视频淕eibel has something that just about every team in the classification doesn无毛视频檛: They have a next-level player at the point (Larkin), a next-level player at the post (Clemmer) and role players who know their jobs,无毛视频� Brudnock said. 无毛视频淲e did everything we could, but in the end, they have a stud player who did what she needed to do in the clutch.无毛视频�