ST. MARYS, Pa. – Trailing by one late in their PIAA Class 4A first round playoff game, St. Marys’ Molly Hanslovan took matters into her own hands.
With her team trailing 39-38, Hanslovan drove the lane and converted a layup with 15 seconds remaining, and St. Marys held off a last-ditch attempt by Highlands to earn a 40-39 victory.
“Honestly, I was nervous,” Hanslovan said. “I saw I was wide open and the ball just kind of got to me and I kind of just took it up as hard as I can and it went in. Thank goodness.”
See Hanslovan’s full interview:
Shelby Wojcik’s had a look at a corner 3-pointer to potentially win the game for Highlands, but it was no good and St. Marys snatched the rebounds as time expired.
“We’ve had games with ECC, DCC, Ridgway that have been close at the end,” said St. Marys coach Zane Adiyeh. “Our girls are pretty good at keeping their composure and just playing. They understand those situations, they have basketball IQs. We came into this game pretty relaxed. We were very excited to win the district championship. We were excited to play the game and see what we could do against a WPIAL team.”
St. Marys (21-5) led from the 4:25 mark of the first quarter until a Wojcik 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run by the Golden Rams (18-8) that gave them a 33-30 lead with 6:40 to play in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Dutch rallied to tie the game courtesy of a bucket from Hanslovan, and, after a defensive stop, Hanslovan knocked down 1-of-2 from the line to tie the game at 33-33.
“We definitely have got better as the season has gone on,” Adiyeh said. “Everyone has gotten better throughout the year, but Molly and Taylor, our underclassmen, have vastly improved throughout the year.”
A Kalleigh Nerone 3-pointer gave Highlands the lead back, but Alexa Schneider answered with a triple of her own for St. Marys and a drive to the basket by Hanslovan made it 38-36 with 3:35 remaining.
That score held until Wojcik’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds to go gave the Golden Rams a 39-38 lead, setting up the game-winner from Hanslovan.
“Every year is a new year,” Adiyeh said. “The team chemistry has really improved, we’re on the same page and playing great.”
St. Marys led by as many as seven, 19-12 with 2:27 to go in the first half thanks to a triple from Maura Caskey, a layup from Hanslovan and a pair of free throws by Snelick.
Highlands rallied to get within four, 19-15 at halftime, and the St. Marys margin fluctuated between one and five points for the entirety of the third quarter.
“The seniors knew this was going to be their last home game and they came in and played their butts off,” Adiyeh said. “For them to have their last home game be a state playoff win, the first one of their careers, is awesome.”
Snelick had 16 points (nine in the third quarter) for St. Marys, while Hanslovan had nine and Caskey eight.
Wojcik had 17 points and Nerone 10 for Highlands.
With the win, St. Marys advances to take on another WPIAL team, runner-up Blackhawk, which beat District 10 No.3 Harbor Creek 54-38. Blackhawk was the state runner-up a year ago. That game will be on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
“Blackhawk is a very good team,” Adiyeh said. “We’re going to do our best the next three days to prepare for them.”
