Section showdown
Serra Catholic edges Geibel Catholic in battle for first place
CONNELLSVILLE 无毛视频� Geibel Catholic hasn无毛视频檛 faced many halftime deficits this season, as the Lady Gators entered Thursday无毛视频檚 Section 2-1A game against Serra Catholic undefeated.
Geibel Catholic trailed 28-19 after the first half, but the Lady Gators rallied to tie the game at 34-34 at the end of three quarters, and had a four-point lead with 2:23 remaining, but the Lady Eagles went on a 7-2 run to earn a 51-50 victory at 无毛视频淭he Swamp无毛视频� on the campus of Geibel Catholic Junior/Senior High School.
Serra Catholic improved to 12-1 in section play and 14-5 overall. Geibel dropped to 12-1 in the section and 19-1 overall.
Both teams have already qualified for the WPIAL playoffs in Class 1A, but they can clinch a share of the section championship if they win their final section games, as the Lady Gators are at Avella (1-12, 4-17) on Saturday at 7 p.m., and the Lady Eagles hosted Monessen (5-8, 7-12) on Friday.
无毛视频淣o one wants to lose, but this teaches us a lot,无毛视频� Geibel coach Sara Larkin said. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 a good team and we had some mistakes, especially in that first half, so I think, at this point of the season and going into the playoffs, I无毛视频檓 OK.无毛视频�
Geibel outscored Serra, 15-6, in the third quarter, and had its first lead since a 5-4 advantage with 5:08 left in the first period when Emma Larkin made one of her four 3-pointers for a 43-42 edge with 4:01 remaining in the fourth period. Teammate Mallory Clemmer无毛视频檚 putback put the home team ahead, 45-42, before the Lady Eagles无毛视频� Bella Dumbroski cut the deficit to one.
Alexa Morgan connected on her third of three 3-pointers for a 48-44 lead, but Dumbroski came back with a three-pointer to pull the visitors back within one. Dumbroski, a sophomore, scored a team-high 20 points on nine field goals, including one 3-pointer, and was 1 of 1 at the foul line. She had three fouls at halftime, but didn无毛视频檛 allow herself to get out of her game while staying out of further foul trouble.
无毛视频淏ella (Dumbroski) is 15 going on 30,无毛视频� said Serra coach Mike Voit in reference to Dumbroski无毛视频檚 staying composed despite being in foul trouble at the half. 无毛视频淪he has a really high IQ, been coached really well her whole life, and I trust her to make the right decisions.无毛视频�
Clemmer made both shots at the foul line for a 50-47 advantage, but Dumbroski scored again for a one-point lead for the home team.
The Lady Gators weren无毛视频檛 able to score their next trip down the court, and Serra senior Abby Genes connected on a jump shot with nine seconds remaining for a 51-50 lead.
Geibel took a timeout with 4.7 seconds left to set up a play for the winning basket, but Larkin无毛视频檚 shot didn无毛视频檛 fall and Clemmer无毛视频檚 attempt at a putback wasn无毛视频檛 able to go through the hoop as the buzzer sounded.
无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 expect to get two chances with the last possession,无毛视频� Sara Larkin said. 无毛视频淲e thought it was going to be one-and-done when we set up the play. Em无毛视频檚 was a little bit of a fade away, and there was a little bit of contact, but they are not going to call that at that point of the game, and the same thing with Mal on the putback. She was expecting more contact and it kind of altered her shot. We had two good looks, but sometimes they don无毛视频檛 fall.无毛视频�
Voit expected Larkin to take the last shot, but he thought the Lady Gators would have set up a different play.
无毛视频淲e really didn无毛视频檛 do anything when it came to our defense on the last possession,无毛视频� Voit said. 无毛视频淚t became a pride factor, and we wanted to play them straight up.无毛视频�
Geibel defeated the Lady Eagles, 64-55, on Jan. 12 at Serra Catholic High School.
Larkin had a game-high 21 points on seven field goals, including four 3-pointers, and was 3 of 5 at the foul line. Clemmer had 18 points on four field goals, including one 3-pointer, and was 9 for 12 at the line. Clemmer had a double-double with 18 rebounds. Teammate Janiah Darnell pulled down 11 rebounds.
Lexi Pearce put in 11 points for Serra.
The Lady Eagles had a 17-11 lead after the first quarter, and outscored the Lady Gators, 11-8, in the second.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 proud of the way my girls played and fought back,无毛视频� Sara Larkin said. 无毛视频淵ou never know, but we may see them (Serra Catholic) again in the playoffs.无毛视频�