PT edged by Hempfield in OT
Peters Township head coach Bert Kendall is looking to keep the Indians atop the section standings after a hot start to begin the season.
Peters Township’s Ally Zuccarini makes a layup Wednesday against Hempfield.
Peters Township’s Isabella Mills is defended Wednesday by Hempfield’s Alexa Pastor.
Peters Township’s Cameron Morgan drives for a layup Wednesday against Hempfield.
CHARLEROI – It seemed fitting the Peters Township girls basketball team started its WPIAL playoff game against Hempfield by shooting at the basket on the opposite end of the court from where the Indians shot during pregame warmups.
The confusion led to a stoppage in play after three possessions so the officials could figure out which team should be shooting at which basket.
In the end, it really didn’t matter because the Indians couldn’t make shots at either end of the court.
Peters Township was simply out of sync on offense from the opening tip.
Peters Township never recovered from the which-way-do-I-go start and lost to Hempfield, 62-56, in overtime in a Class AAAA first-round game Wednesday night at Charleroi High School.
Fourth-seeded Peters Township (18-5) shot only 25 percent from the field in the first half, but escaped trailing by only 18-17. The Indians, sparked by Madison Kerr, who scored a team-high 22 points, seemed to shake their offensive problems in the second half and forged a 41-35 lead – at that point the largest of the game – with 4:54 remaining in the fourth quarter.
But with Hempfield’s season teetering on extinction, PT’s offense went into another deep freeze and the Indians made only one more field goal until there was 29 seconds left in overtime.
“We were better in the second half but not good enough,” PT coach Bert Kendall said. “We shot the ball well all season but not tonight. We missed a lot of putbacks for some reason.”
The win sends Hempfield (15-8) into the next round Friday against Pine-Richland. The Spartans have their zone defense and free-throwing to thank for their spot in the quarterfinals. Hempfield made 26 of 32 free throws and scored all 16 of their points in overtime from the foul line.
“To be honest, we’re a team that doesn’t spend much time in practice shooting free throws,” Hempfield coach Aaron Epps said. “I believe that’s an individual skill and something a player should practice on their own time. However, we haven’t shot well from the line lately and we’ve started shooting a lot more free throws in practice. I guess we’ll continue to do that.”
Both teams struggled to score for three quarters and entered the final eight minutes of regulation with PT holding a 28-27 lead.
The fourth quarter turned into a can-you-top-this game between Kerr and Hempfield’s Michelle Burns, who scored a game-high 28 points. Burns made a three-pointer and Kerr answered. Burns drove for a basket and Kerr made a steal and drove the length of the court for a layup.
When Kerr made a three-pointer off an in-bounds pass that gave PT the 41-35 lead, Burns answered with a three that kept Hempfield in the game. The Spartans still trailed 46-44 with 21 seconds left, when Ali Belgiouvane made two free throws that forced overtime. PT missed two shots from the lane in the final two seconds of regulation.
Hempfield attempted all 32 of its free throws after halftime, the result of the Spartans being more aggressive on offense and driving to the basket.
“In the first half we settled for too many jumpers when I thought we had the speed advantage,” Epps said. “Getting in the bonus early in the second half was the key.”
Hempfield scored the first four points of overtime, then protected the advantage by spreading its offense and making the Indians foul. Three PT players fouled out.
The Spartans pushed their lead to as many as eight points in overtime. PT made eight of 15 from the free-throw line in the game.
“The game came down to foul shots, and we’re usually a good free-throw shooting team,” Kendall said.
“Our seniors have never played a playoff game, so maybe we learned some things. We did tie for a section title, our first in 16 years, so we did some good things. We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket for some reason in this game.”
Makenna Marisa scored 12 points for PT and Cameron Morgan had a game-high 13 rebounds.