FRILLS CORNERS, Pa. – No Lily Homan. No problem.
Also see: D9 Boys Recaps • O-E’s Sheeler Sets School Scoring Mark
With its leading scorer Homan out for the playoffs because of the PIAA transfer rule, third-seeded North Clarion turned to a team-wide approach to beat sixth-seeded and visiting Ridgway, 49-33, in the District 9 Class 1A quarterfinals..
Brooke Steinman scored a career-high 11 points with Lauren Lutz adding 10 points for the She-Wolves who also got seven points each from Maria Bauer and Akeela Greenawalt and six from Ainsley Hartle.
A hot start was key for North Clarion (20-4) who led 11-2 at the end of the first quarter and then outscored Ridgway 16-9 in the second quarter to take a 27-11 halftime lead.
Six different She-Wolves scored in the second quarter led by four points from Steinman and three each from Bauer and Greenawalt.
GabbyAmacher led Ridgway (13-10) with 14 points with Jenna Kasmierski adding eight points, six blocks, and seven steals.
North Clarion will face second-seeded Elk County Catholic in the semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Ridgway will compete for the final PIAA playoff berth awarded to District 9 playing in a four-team consolation tournament. The Lady Elkers will host seventh-seeded Clarion at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at St. Marys High School.
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC 54, PORT ALLEGANY 30
DUBOIS, Pa.- Using a 27-8 second-half run, fourth-seeded DuBois Central Catholic pulled away from fifth-seeded and visiting Port Allegany, 54-30, in the D9 Class 1A quarterfinals.
Rewatch the game
The Lady Cardinals (13-11) led by just six, 27-21, following a basket by Port Allegany’s Kayleigha Dowell at the midway point of the third quarter.
But Marina Hanes hit a 3-pointer to start the game-deciding run that also included a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointer from Lexi Berta and eight straight points from Jessy Frank to close out the run.
Frank’s eight points were part of a run-ending 10-0 spurt by DCC that started when Port Allegany head coach Jamie Evens was called for a technical foul after a play right in front of him didn’t go the Lady Gators’ way. Berta hit the two technical free throws, and then Frank scored the next 10 points to put DCC ahead 54-29.
Port Allegany (19-4) fought foul trouble all night long with Dowell and Ella Moses both picking up three first-half fouls.
DCC had some foul trouble as well – team fouls were 17 for Port Allegany and 16 for DCC – but the Lady Cardinals were deeper and able to withstand it more.
Frank led DCC with 15 points and was named the Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Game.
Frank talked about the win on the Janney Montgomery Scott in Clarion QR Code Coach’s Chalkboard Postgame Show.
Berta added 11 points in the win with Kayley Risser scoring 10 and Faith Jacob nine.
DCC head coach Jordan Hoover joined the Janney Montgomery Scott in Clarion QR Code Coach’s Chalkboard to talk about the victory.
Dowell paced Port Allegany with nine points with Evin Stauffer adding six points, four rebounds, and three steals, and Moses six points, three assists, and three steals. Brynn Evens chipped in seven rebounds to go with four points.
DCC will face top-seeded Otto-Eldred in the semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Port Allegany will compete for the final PIAA playoff berth awarded to District 9 playing in a four-team consolation tournament. The Lady Gators will host eighth-seeded Northern Potter at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27.
Jessy Frank had 15 points for DCC and was named the Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Game.
ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 47, CLARION 28
ST. MARYS, Pa. – Defending champion Elk County Catholic, the second seed, jumped all over seventh-seeded Clarion early on its way to a 47-28 win in the D9 Class 1A quarterfinals at ECC.
ECC (22-3) led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and 24-9 at halftime.
Syd Alexander was key early scoring five first-quarter points and seven of her 15 in the first half.
Emily Mourer, meanwhile, was consistent throughout scoring eight points in each half to net a game-high 16 points. Tori Newton chipped in eight points.
Sophie Babington hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 points to pace Clarion with Taylor Alston adding seven points.
ECC will face third-seeded North Clarion in the semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Clarion (10-14) will compete for the final PIAA playoff berth awarded to District 9 playing in a four-team consolation tournament. The Lady Cats will travel to play sixth-seeded Ridgway at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at St. Marys High School.
ST> MARYS 46, CLEARFIELD 27
DUBOIS, Pa. – Olivia Eckels hit a pair of first-quarter 3-pointer to spearhead a quick start for second-seeded St. Marys in a 46-27 win over third-seeded Clearfield in the District 9 Class 4A semifinals at DuBois High School.
Eckels scored all eight of her points in the first quarter to help the Lady Dutch (19-6) to a 17-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The lead was 23-13 at halftime, and then Izzy Catalone got hot for St. Marys in the third quarter scoring eight points of her own while hitting a pair of 3-pointers to expand the lead to 39-18.
Catalone finished with 12 points with Jayssa Snelick adding 10 points.
Hannah Glunt had 11 points for Clearfield with Mia Helsel adding eight points while hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
St. Marys will take on top-seeded Punxsutawney in the D9 title game Friday, March 4, at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gym.
WATCH THE JANNEY MONTGOMERY SCOTT IN CLARION QR CODE COACH’S CHALKBOARD POSTGAME SHOW
Jess Quinn and Chris Rossetti broke down some of the action from the night on the Janney Montgomery Scott QR Code Coach’s Chalkboard Show (note Sheeler’s school record wasn’t known until after the show ended)
