COUDERSPORT — In the end, Coudersport’s defense was just too much for Port Allegany to overcome.
The Lady Falcons stifling defense hasn’t been kind to teams all year long and that was the case again on Saturday when Coudy used yet another tough defensive performance to earn a 42-37 win over the Lady Gators, earning a spot in Tuesday’s District 9 Class A title game for the second year in a row.
Top-seeded Coudy will host No. 2-seeded Otto-Eldred, which defeated Elk County Catholic, 35-22, at the Terror Dome Saturday.
“They went to the final eight last year for a reason, (they’re the) toughest defensive team we’ve played since I’ve been a coach and our shooting stats showed it tonight,” Port coach Jamie Evens said. “(It’s) tough to win when you can’t score and they came out on fire.”
Coudy’s Sarah Chambers, who ran point guard in place of the injured Liz Frame, scored 10 points in the first quarter, while Emma Chambers recorded five to give the Lady Falcons (19-1) a 19-9 first quarter lead. Sarah Chambers finished with a game-high 20 points
Coudy’s defense held Port leading scorer Bree Garzel in check for most of the game with Belle Porterfield defending her. Garzel finished the game with 10 points, which tied for the second-lowest she’s scored in a game this season.
“She’s tough, she’s almost over- exuberant,” Coudy head coach Bob Tingley said of Porterfield. “I have great expectations for her. We’ve always had a pretty good defense. It seems like every year, someone comes along that has the quickness and strength that we can fit them into that role. I really appreciate the job that she did out here tonight.”
Overall, the Lady Gators (13-6) made just two field goals in the first half and six total, including just one three-pointer.
“It’s just straight up man-to-man and they’re in your face, they’re physical,” Evens said. “We tried to play the same way, but it helps when you have Sarah Chambers on the backend, who’ll just swat anything.”
After Coudy took a 29-16 halftime lead, Port started the second half off stronger than they did the first.
Evin Stauffer and Kayleigha Dowell each made field goals to bring Port to without 10 points as Coudy took a timeout. The Lady Gators also stepped up defensively, holding Coudy to no made field goals in the third quarter. The Lady Falcons’ three third quarter points came on two free throws from Sarah Chambers and one from Rosalyn Page, who tallied 11 points on the night.
“We tried to spread them out a little bit, put a couple of different shooters in, tried to go a little bit smaller I guess,” Evens said. “And again, we had to rely on the outside game, we couldn’t get anything going to the hoop.”
Port’s 10-point deficit was as close as the team would get as the Lady Gators were held to just five points in the fourth quarter.
Coudy was then able to get stops and capitalized on their free throws, sinking 6-of-9 during the quarter to along with a pair of field goals to clinch the victory.
“Overall, there’s no one on the team that I’m displeased with. Everybody played hard,” Tingley said. “Ros did a great job on the boards. We got on the floor after the ball. They weren’t tentative, they were going after it and we preach that.”
Port’s loss on Saturday ended the high school basketball careers for Garzel, Jade Evens, Gracie Archer and Mallory Causer, four seniors who’ll be difficult to replace and made a positive impact on Jamie Evens and the program.
“I took this job three years ago, really, I don’t know how to describe it, but it was a difficult decision then. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. I’ve coached for 25 years, but at this point in my life, I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with the off-the-court aspects of coaching,” Jamie Evens said.
“And those four seniors have made the last three years the most memorable, more than I could ever imagine. It’s going to be difficult taking the court again without them.”
Tuesday’s district title game will be the third time Coudy and O-E have met this season with both teams each getting a win over each other.
Tingley said the team will practice their halfcourt offensive execution and get Sarah Chambers more comfortable running the point. Regarding Frame’s status, Tingley said his expectation is that she’ll miss the remainder of the season with a high ankle sprain, but he’s not positive.
The coach is expecting a dogfight between his team and Shawn Gray’s O-E squad led by Katie Sheeler, with the winner earning a trip to the PIAA state playoffs.
“I expect a very competitive game, very tough, and (Gray) does a good job, he really does,” Tingley said. “I think that’s a game worth seeing.”
AT COUDERSPORT
Port Allegany (27)
Bree Garzel 3 3-6 10, Stauffer 2 2-4 8, Budd 0 3-4 3, Dowell 1 0-0 2, Evens 1 0-0 2, Archer 0 2-2 2. Totals: 7 10-16 27
Coudersport (42)
Sarah Chambers 7 4-6 20, Rosalyn Page 3 5-7 11, E. Chambers 2 0-2 5, Sa. Myers 1 0-0 2, Si. Myers 1 0-0 2, Porterfield 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 9-15 42
Port Allegany 9 16 22 27
Coudersport 19 29 32 42
Three-point goals: PA 1 (Garzel), Coudy 3 (S. Chambers 2, E. Chambers); Total fouls: PA 18, Coudy 14; fouled out: None
