DUKE CENTER, Pa. – A 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter helped lift No. 8 Otto-Eldred to a win over No. 9 Northern Potter in the first round of the District 9 Class 1A playoffs on Tuesday.
Also see: Brookville Tops Kane in D9 Class 3A Girls Semifinals • Coudy beats Curwensville in D9 2A boys first round
Rewatch the game:
The Lady Terrors (14-10) led 19-14 at halftime and 23-14 early in the third, but Austin (12-10) closed the quarter on an 8-0 run to get within one, 23-22 going to the fourth.
Carrie Drummond started the rally for O-E (14-10) with an old school 3-point play. Addie Bell also had a 3-point play and Kate Rhinehary knocked down two of her five 3-pointers as the Lady Terrors ultimately outscored Austin (12-10) 28-15 in the fourth.
“Less turnovers and more working together,” Rhinehart said. “We’ve had a few game where we’ve had a lot of turnovers and then we go the bench, call timeout, talk it through and get back under our feet and continue to work together.”
Rhinehart was named Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Game, finishing with a team-high 17 points.
See Rhinehart’s full Cole Orthodontic Associates interview:
Otto-Eldred trailed 5-2 until Rhinehart’s 3-pointer late in the first quarter, and they built a 19-14 halftime advantage before Isabella Rees and Ella Brewer keyed the Austin rally.
“I told them if you don’t expect to get punched going out here, you’re fooling yourselves,” Gray said. “And that’s the thing with this group. They play so hard but they make it so hard on themselves by doing silly stuff. It’s been an all-year thing we’ve been doing. I can’t express how much heartbreak they’ve had and they are hard on themselves. But you know, it’s a great group of kids, I’m lucky to coach them and I’m really proud of how they responded tonight.”
Rayel Hakes scored eight of her 15 points during the fourth quarter surge for O-E, while Drummond finished with 11.
Rees had 17 points and Brewer 12 for Austin.
And now Otto-Eldred gets to go and play at No. 1 seed Elk County Catholic on Thursday (7 p.m.). In a rematch of last year’s 1A title game, one by Otto-Eldred.
The two teams met in the first game of this season, a 54-14 ECC victory.
NORTHERN POTTER 35, OSWAYO VALLEY 30
SHINGLEHOUSE, Pa. – In the rubber match between the two NTL teams, 10th-seeded Northern Potter used a strong first half to knock off seventh-seeded Oswayo Valley, 35-30, at OV.
The Lady Panthers (13-10) built an 18-9 halftime lead on the strength of five points each from Molly Caddy and Emma Haynes and 3-pointers by KAyden Brown and Taylor Knowles.
Oswayo Valley (16-9), which enjoyed its finest season in 30 years, tried to fight back in the third quarter outscoring Northern Potter 9-5 in the frame to close the gap to 23-17 going to the fourth quarter.
Charlotte Austin-Keech had a 3-pointe during the third-quarter for the Green Wave while Makenna Manning added four points.
But Northern Potter was able to hold on in the fourth quarter despite going just 5 of 11 from the free-throw line in the quarter thanks in part to a 3-pointer by Cady.
Cady led the Lady Panthers, who will travel to second-seeded Ridgway for a quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, with 10 points while Brown and Haynes each scored seven tallies.
Oswayo Valley, whose 16 wins were the most since winning 21 in 1994, got 15 points, six rebounds, and five steals from Manning while Eva West added six rebounds.
