Girls basketball roundup: Lampe scores 34 but comeback beats West Greene
West Greene’s Madison Lampe snatches a loose ball away from Otto-Eldred’s Alyssa Shelander, Camryn Thomas, and Emily Smith in the second quarter
West Greene’s McKenna Lampe looks to pass to a team mate in the fourth quarter
West Greene’s Kaitlyn Rizor knocks the ball from the hands of Otto-Eldred’s Ali Cousins in the 1st quarter
West Greene’s Marisa Rode knocks the ball away from Otto-Eldred’s Camryn Thomas in the second quarter
West Greene’s Marissa Rode hangs on to the ball despite the best efforts of Otto-Eldred’s Emily Smith.
Camryn Thomas scored 28 points and Otto-Eldred overcame a double-digit first-half deficit to rally and defeat West Greene 61-57 in a PIAA Class A girls basketball first-round playoff game Saturday afternoon at Bradford High School.
Otto-Eldred, the District 9 runner-up, won despite a phenomenal performance by West Greene sophomore guard McKenna Lampe, who scored a game-high 34 points. West Greene (19-6) led for the first three quarters but was outscored 26-17 in the pivotal fourth quarter.
The first state tournament appearance for a West Greene basketball team couldn’t have started any better as the Pioneers raced to a quick 12-0 lead. West Greene was still up by 12 points (23-11) after one quarter but Otto-Eldred got back in the game in the second quarter, with Lampe on the bench with two fouls, outscoring the Pioneers 14-4 to close to within 27-25 at halftime.
Otto-Eldred (18-8) tied the score early in the third quarter but West Greene took a 42-38 lead into the final eight minutes.
Otto-Eldred scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to take its first lead of the game at 44-42 with 6:02 to play. West Greene then scored five points in five seconds – a Lampe three-pointer, a steal and Lampe layup – to take a 47-44 lead.
“She was phenomenal,” said West Greene head coach Jordan Watson.
An offensive rebound and basket by Thomas put O-E back in the lead at 48-47 and the teams continued to exchange the lead. West Greene’s final advantage was at 51-50 after a Lampe jump shot with 3:21 remaining.
Ali Cousins made two free throws to put Otto-Eldred in front for good at 52-51 with a little more than three minutes remaining.
Madison Lampe made two free throws to bring West Greene to within 54-53 with 1:53 remaining but Otto-Eldred was able to make enough free throws down the stretch to protect the lead.
“We played great in the first quarter but then we got in foul trouble in the second quarter,” said Watson.
“We also had some trouble breaking their press. And we just didn’t have enough height to match up with Thomas. She’s about 6-2.
“But overall, I’m happy with the season. The 19 wins ties the school record for the most by a boys or girls team. And we’ve only got one senior. We’ll work hard this summer and hopefully come back better next year.”
West Shamokin 48, Charleroi 35: West Shamokin, the District 6 champion, pulled away over the final four minutes and defeated Charleroi 48-35 in a Class AAA game at Armstrong High School.
The game was close until the final surge by West Shamokin (25-2). After the first quarter ended tied, West Shamokin led 21-19 at halftime and 30-28 after three quarters.
Charleroi (19-6) remained within striking distance at 38-33 with 3:58 remaining but the Cougars were outscored 10-2 down the stretch.
Sierra Short and Kaitlyn Riley carried much of the offense for the Cougars. Short scored a team-high 16 points and Riley also was in double figures with 13.
South Fayette 51, Obama Academy 49: South Fayette slipped past Pittsburgh City League champion Obama Academy 51-49 in a Class 5-A first-roudn game at Allderdice High Schoool.
The Lions (18-6) will play Hampton in the second round Wednesday.
No game details were made available to the Observer-Reporter.