DUKE CENTER — The Otto-Eldred girls basketball team was able to earn win number five and stay undefeated as it took down visiting Port Allegany, winning 52-35 with a seemingly unstoppable offensive attack from deep.
Coming into this game, O-E had been taking the season by storm. The Lady Terrors outscored their first three opponents — Gowanda, Bradford and Northern Potter — by a combined 103 points while only giving up 62 points. In their fourth game, they faced Elk County Catholic in a rematch from last year’s District 9 Championship, where the Lady Terrors took their revenge in a 36-32 win at home.
The Lady Gators were similarly undefeated, although they had only played one game, a 47-26 win against Bradford a week ago.
“We just wanted to come in and give it the best effort we could, really focus on the defensive end,” said Port Allegany head coach Jamie Evens. “Obviously we would have liked to have had three or four more games before we played (O-E,) but we have to play who’s on the schedule.”
The first quarter between the Lady Terrors and Lady Gators was tightly contested. O-E got on the board first with a bucket from deep from Carrie Drummond and a steal that turned into a converted and-one on the other side of the court from Sheeler. While the Lady Gators were held scoreless through the first several minutes, they began to chip away at a 6-0 lead by finding scorers in the paint. Going into the second quarter, O-E held a 9-5 advantage.
The Lady Gators entered the second quarter stumbling, turning the ball over on their first possession with an unforced back-court violation. That play would be an omen for the quarter, as the Lady Gators continuously gave the ball away and allowed the Lady Terrors to convert fast break layups to build a quick lead. While O-E put points on the board with ease, the Lady Gators struggled to sink anything, including multiple open shots in the paint.
A contested 3-point shot from Sheeler pushed the lead to 10 with 4:20 remaining in the half, which the Lady Terrors held until halftime, entering the break up 22-12.
“I think we just saw each other a little more in the second quarter. We missed some open players, especially around the basket,” said O-E head coach Shawn Gray. “We spaced the floor a little better. We made good cuts and that helped our offense out a lot.”
Both teams battled back-and-forth, each finding scoring runs throughout the third quarter. Out of the gates it was O-E, who opened the quarter with a shot from behind the arc from Anna Merry. With back-to-back full court passes, the Lady Terrors added seven unmatched points to their lead.
However, the Lady Gators began challenging their shooter farther out, resulting in a scoring slump for O-E which Port took advantage of. Carried early by Ella Moses’ rebounding and passing, the Lady Gators went on a 7-0 run of their own, six of those points coming from Kayleigha Dowell, and cutting the lead to seven.
Responding, the Lady Terrors turned up their physicality. Drawing several fouls and making defenders hesitant, O-E pushed the lead to double-digits again before finding their rhythm once again. With flashy passing and a showcase of range, the Lady Terrors ended the quarter on a 11-3 run.
“The other teams are at a disadvantage a lot with us because we have kids that can shoot it, we have kids that can put it on the floor. We have Bri (Heller) down low who’s really active and takes up space and can score around the rim,” said Gray. “(With the shooters we have) teams need to come out and guard us or it’s going to be a long night.”
Going into the fourth quarter, O-E had the momentum. They continued to force turnovers which resulted in fast break layups and used their stellar playmaking to find shooters both inside and outside the arc.
Visibly gassed from chasing the ball, the Lady Gators collapsed, allowing O-E to remain undefeated with a 52-35 win.
“For the last three years, I’ve been telling our teams that we’re the only teams that can stop us. As long as we stay together, we believe that family is a verb and not a noun,” said Gray. “We believe it, we act it, we love each other. That’s all we need.”
Sheeler led the Lady Terrors with another 20-point performance, followed by Carrie Drummond with nine points. For the Lady Gators, Dowell led with 10 points while Moses ended with nine.
Dowell 4 1-1 10, Moses 3 3-6 9, Evens 2 2-6 6, Stauffer 1 3-6 5, Nelson 1 0-0 3, Errick 1 0-0 2 Totals:
Otto-Eldred (52)Sheeler 4 9-11 20, Drummond 3 2-2 9, Merry 3 0-0 8, Heller 3 0-0 6, Rhinehart 2 0-0 4, Close 1 1-2 3, Gordon 1 0-0 2. Totals:
Three-point goals: OE 6 (Sheeler 3, Merry 2, Drummond), Port 2 (Nelson, Dowell); Total fouls: OE 15, Port 13; fouled out:
JV: Port won.
