ST. MARYS, Pa. – Sami Straub scored eight of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:15 to play to help lift Elk County Catholic to a 36-31 win over St. Marys in the AML championship game.
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The win was the fourth this season for the Crusaders of the Dutch.
“We knew we had to play really good defense,” Straub said. “We knew the defense was going to win the game for us. We knew they were going to come out strong.”
See Straub’s full interview:
The five-point margin of victory for ECC was tied for the second-largest lead of the game by either team.
The lead changed hands several times from the late stages of the third quarter until Straub’s go-ahead shot.
See Straub’s go-ahead 3:
Olivia Eckles gave St. Marys a 27-25 lead on a triple with 10 seconds left in the third, but Lucy Klawuhn tied the game at the horn on a long two.
Straub’s first 3 of the fourth quarter gave ECC a 30-27 lead with 4:40 to play.
Eckles responded, knocking down a pair of free throws on the following possession to trim the margin to one, and, after the Dutch got a stop, Eckles gave them the lead on a shot with just under four minutes to go, 31-30.
Those were the last points St. Marys scored.
“We were able to control penetration and get out on their shooters,” Straub said.
ECC coach Ken Pistner, whose team has won six-straight games and 11 of its past 12, praised his team’s defensive effort.
“It’s very difficult to beat a good team four times in a season, let alone three on their home court,” Pistner said. “We knew we were in for a battle. Offense comes and goes, but defense is going to be steady.”
St. Marys had chances down the stretch, but the ECC defense was up to the task, and Klawuhn and Straub were able to close the game out from the free-throw line.
Elk County Catholic’s Lucy Klawuhn puts up a shot. Photo by Andy Close.
“We wanted to keep them in the 20s tonight, so overall a pretty good defensive effort, especially when you’re missing a lot of shots,” Pistner said.
Klawuhn knocked down three 3s in the first half for ECC, but St. Marys’ Molly Hanslovan kept her team in it, coming off the bench and connecting on a pair of triples in the second quarter, the latter of which cut the margin to 19-16 just before halftime.
A Klawuhn triple to start the third put ECC up 22-16, but St.Marys responded with a 6-0 run, capped by an Alexa Schneider 3.
St. Marys’ Molly Hanslovan drives toward the basket. Photo by Andy Close.
Klawuhn finished with 13 points, while Emily Mourer added six for ECC.
Eckles paced St. Marys with nine points, while Jayssa Snelick added seven and Hanslovan six.
Elk County Catholic will enter as the No. 2 seed in the upcoming D9 Class 1A playoffs and host Clarion on Thursday.
St. Marys, the No. 2 seed in the Class 4A bracket will play No. 3 Clearfield on Thursday at DuBois High School, with the winner meeting top-seed Punxsy for the D9 title.
“It’s always good to be going in an upward direction and we’ve been playing good basketball for about a month now,” Pistner said. “And we’re happy with where we’re at right now.”
