By JO WANKEL

Era Sports Writer

DUKE CENTER — Otto-Eldred hosted Geibel Catholic Saturday afternoon in the Terror Dome, and the trio of Addie Bell, Carrie Drummond and Rayel Hakes each put up double digits to ensure a 65-45 victory and a place in the Sweet 16 in PIAA 1A girls playoff action.

“They put in effort. I told them after last Saturday, they could have easily said the heck with it, you know, we had a great year and thrown in the towel. They did the opposite,” Otto-Eldred coach Shawn Gray said. “I’m so happy that Carrie and Addie got to go out winning their last game since they lost on Senior Night. They can say they won their last game in this gym, and I know that means a lot to them.

“I had no idea they were going to come out and perform the way they did today. It was a testament to them; they’re a great group of kids and I have nothing but good things to say about any of them.”

Hakes sank a basket to put the first points on the board for O-E. However, Geibel Catholic’s Mallory Clemmer answered quickly to tie the score. The Lady Terrors proceeded to go on an eight-point run over the next four minutes before allowing Clemmer to sink another basket after bringing down the rebound on her own shot. Clemmer cut the lead further by sinking a three with 3:35 to go in the first.

O-E’s Ayla Van Scoter sank one and then added her own three to give the Lady Terrors a 15-7 lead. Over the remaining two minutes, O-E added three successful free throws of six to take an 18-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Over the course of the second quarter, O-E outscored Geibel Catholic 17-11, earning a comfortable 35-18 lead at the half.

Both teams played strong defense starting out the third, with Van Scoter sinking the first basket one minute and eight seconds in. Geibel Catholic’s Ava Henderson answered in kind, making the score O-E 37-20 with 6:33 to go. The Lady Terrors went on a six-point scoring run over the next four minutes, with the Lady Gators offense struggling until the two-minute mark, when Geibel Catholic’s Emma Larkin put one up and in to make the score 45-28. The remaining two minutes saw a bit more shooting for both sides, leading to a score of O-E 51, Geibel Catholic 32 at the end of the third.

While Larkin played an aggressive fourth quarter, including sinking a three from near halfcourt, it wasn’t enough to bring the Lady Gators back from the deficit they faced at the end of the third. Otto-Eldred held a 20-point advantage at the buzzer, winning 65-45.

“We’re a defensive first team for sure. I’d like to see our defense lead to a few more easy shots, but when our kids are confident behind that line and they see a couple go through, it’s contagious,” Gray noted. “Everybody gets confident. If we’re hitting shots, we’re a tough team to beat.

“I thought Carrie Drummond played her tail off tonight, she was definitely a leader. She looked like a locomotive going to the hole a few times. I told her that five train was running today.”

“You know that you lose and you’re done.

I feel for the Geibel Catholic girls. But that’s kind of the fun of it too. All the preparation is focused on this one thing. All week — I had more than a week — to come up with a plan for this team,” Gray said. “The finality of it — thankfully we didn’t have to worry about it today, but we know that the next time you lose, this all ends.”

Both Friday and Saturday were busy for the Terror Dome, as the close-knit community turned out to support the boys’ and girls’ teams in their PIAA playoff efforts. Both teams won and will take the floor at PennWest Clarion next week.

“This area is special. The Blue and Gold, we are Terrors. When we get together, we can be Terrors; on the football field, the baseball field or the softball field,” Gray said. “When all the ingredients are mixed together right, there’s nothing like being a Terror. I saw it when I was a high school player and this run over the last eight to 10 years has been amazing.”

At DUKE CENTER GEIBEL CATHOLIC (45) Darnell 1-1-4-3, Henderson 3-0-2-6, Mallory Clemmer 4-0-0-10, Waggett 2-0-0-4, Emma Larkin 8-4-5-22. Totals 18-5-11-45.

OTTO-ELDRED(65) Addie Bell 4-7-12-17, Carrie Drummond 7-1-2-17, Rayel Hakes 5-4-6-14, Van Scoter 4-0-0-9, Francis 3-2-4-8. Totals 23-14-24-65.

GC 7 11 14 13 O-E 18 17 16 14 Three-Point Goals: GC 4 (Clemmer 2, Larkin 2); O-E 5 (Bell 2, Drummond 2, Van Scoter 1). Total Fouls: GC 18, O-E 10.