The beginning of the game was delayed and so was the end as the
Coudersport Lady Falcons advanced to the District 9 Class A girls’
final with a 67-62 overtime win over Elk County Catholic at the
Pitt-Bradford Sport & Fitness Center on Tuesday.
After the semifinal contest was pushed back 30 minutes because
of a Coudy bus malfunction, the Lady Falcons had trouble getting
their own engines started as ECC jumped out to a 7-1 lead behind
four points from Meghan Beveridge and three more from Claire
Posteraro.
“We had trouble adjusting to the length of the court, the depth
perception and the speed of the game,” said Brian Green, Coudy head
coach. “Because of the tough schedule they (Lady Crusaders) play,
they go up and down, and get in your face. We were just a step
behind and they were beating us down the floor.”
Danielle Furman and Kristy Kamper then scored four points
apiece, and Jessica Wilson banked home a six-footer with 21 seconds
left as the Lady Falcons rallied for an 11-11 deadlock after one
quarter.
Vicky Straub assisted on a layup by Katie Friedl to send ECC
back in front 14-13 at the 7:29 juncture, but Morris drilled a
three-pointer from the left corner and then added a 16-footer to
send Coudy ahead 16-13 with 6:54 remaining in the half.
“Hope Morris had a huge game,” Green recalled. “She drove the
lane, made baskets and drew fouls.”
The Lady Falcons opened their biggest lead of the half at 32-23
on a fastbreak layin by Jordan Bright, but with 14 seconds left
Meghan Beveridge swished a trifecta from the right wing to cut the
ECC deficit to 32-26 at the intermission.
“When you’re not shooting well it’s very easy to tank it,” said
Ken Pistner, Lady Crusaders’ head coach. “We hung with it and knew
we would make some shots eventually.”
Coudy also enjoyed a nine-point margin on a steal and subsequent
free throw by Chelsey Tuttle 50 seconds into the third stanza, but
ECC utilized four points each from Emily Radkowski and Laken Lenox
to trail 42-39 after three.
Posteraro then began to dominate the fourth quarter and scored
five straight points to put the Lady Crusaders in front 44-42 with
6:43 remaining.
“Claire (Posteraro) does that every game for us,” Pistner
declared. “Unfortunately she picked up some early fouls in the
first half and we had to sit her down (with just three
points).”
The ECC lead was 48-44 when Kelly McVay converted a free throw
and a layup, and Furman sank two foul shots to give Coudy a 49-48
advantage with 2:31 left.
Posteraro’s no-look shot in the paint sent the Lady Crusaders
back on the plus side at 50-49, but it would prove to be their last
lead of the night as five consecutive points by Morris opened a
54-50 Coudy disparity with 51 ticks left.
The advantage was still four (56-52) when Posteraro drove the
lane for a pair of layups at the 34-second mark and with seven
seconds remaining to knot it at 56-all. The second-seeded Lady
Falcons then failed to get a shot off in the final 4.9 seconds and
the affair went into the five-minute overtime.
“Claire (Posteraro) just took over the game,” Green admitted.
“The kid is phenomenal and we had a heck of a time stopping
her.”
In the extra session a free throw by Tuttle, two more from
Kamper and a traditional three-point play by Morris staked Coudy to
a 62-56 cushion with 2:52 left.
Twice ECC pared their deficit to four points, but Furman was
4-for-4 from the charity stripe over the final 93 seconds to seal
Coudy’s 24th straight win. The Lady Falcons converted 16-of-18 foul
shot over the final eight minutes.
“That (free throw shooting) is something we have done well all
year,” Green boasted. “We were 15-for-19 in the last game and
23-for-32 tonight. I’m extremely pleased with the job we did
defensively tonight. ECC is a very good basketball team. They only
lost two games all year to AAA Punxsy.”
Posteraro finished with 22 points, Meghan Beveridge had 11
points and Friedl added 10 points for third-seeded ECC (24-3), who
will face No. 4 Port Allegany (21-5) in the consolation game. The
Lady Gators fell to top-seeded Union 73-32 on Tuesday.
The five-foot Furman had 17 points, nine rebounds and six
assists; Morris registered 15 points and five steals, Kamper had 14
points, 13 rebounds and five assists; and Wilson contributed 10
points for the Lady Falcons (24-1).
Coudy now faces defending champion Union (25-1) at Clarion
University (time TBA) on Saturday. All four of the D-9 semifinal
teams will advance to the PIAA Class A playoffs.
“We know what they’re about,” Green said of Union. “They are
big, fast and have good shooters. They are a state-caliber playoff
team, but we are going down there and give it our best effort.”
