JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

If I told you what happened to McCaskey’s girls’ basketball team (and to me) on Friday, you probably wouldn’t believe it. I tried to capture what happened to the Red Tornado in this story. Me? Let’s just say I’m writing this from Altoona - on Saturday morning. What a wild and crazy Friday for everyone involved. Read on …

TYRONE – It wasn’t supposed to end this way for Teasia Myers and Cherelle Simmons.

Not stuck in a bus, halfway across the state, in a driving snow storm.

Not sitting on the bench, heads buried in their hands, peeking through their fingers at the clock, watching the final seconds of their high school basketball careers tick away.

Not after everything they’ve been through; all the blood, sweat and tears, helping make McCaskey’s girls’ basketball program a force.

But all good things must come to an end. And Myers and Simmons’ careers have ended.

“It’s sad to go out with a loss,” Myers said after McCaskey dropped a 58-41 decision to District 6 champ State College in a PIAA Quad-A first-round game here Friday night.

“But I’ll never forget the experience of playing for McCaskey,” she said. “It’s been a great, great experience.”

You won’t believe the experience McCaskey’s players and coaches had just getting to Tyrone Area Middle School for the game.

The team departed McCaskey in a charter bus at 1:30 p.m. under sunny skies in Lancaster.

The team walked into the gym at 7:55 p.m. – for a 7 p.m. tip – after a maddening six and half hour bus ride.

Tyrone and the surrounding area were under blizzard conditions, and McCaskey’s bus got stuck in it. The stretch on Route 322 between State College and Tyrone – which is about 15 miles from Altoona – was treacherous, and with some roads around 322 closing, McCaskey’s bus got stuck behind an accident and sat.

“It was scary,” Myers said. “It was a scary, scary ride. We saw a car flipped over and we got stuck in the traffic.”

State College, which had about a 30-minute drive from its campus, killed time by stretching and hanging out with classmates and parents.

Game officials kept fans abreast of where McCaskey was on the road, and at 7:55 – 55 minutes after the scheduled start – the Tornado spilled into the gym and was greeted with a rousing ovation from State College fans.

The game tipped at 8:47.

“Crazy ride,” Simmons said.

It’s been a crazy ride for Myers and Simmons, key cogs in McCaskey’s lineup for the last four seasons.

Myers started six games at the point in her freshman season, and Simmons also saw some time as a freshman as a reserve forward. That was also coach Brian McCloud’s first year on the job, so he’s been coaching the Tornado’s dynamic duo since the start of their varsity career.

Myers and Simmons joined the starting rotation as sophomores, and what a sophomore season they put together, leading the Tornado to a victory over Red Lion in the District 3 Quad-A championship game and into the state playoffs.

McCaskey missed out on States last year, but made a spirited run through Districts before being eliminated by Section 1 rival Cedar Crest in a state-qualifier game. The Tornado also reached the L-L League final last season.

This season, McCaskey advanced to the fifth-place game, falling to league foe Hempfield. But McCaskey was back in States. The Tornado didn’t have a long stay in States, but it was certainly a memorable day.

In their four seasons on varsity, Myers and Simmons – with McCloud calling the shots on the bench – went 86-21 with a trip to the league finals, a District 3 championship, and two trips to States.

“As a sophomore, I was voted MVP in Districts and we won the district title,” said Myers, who scored 18 points against State College, and finished her career with 1,229 points.

“How many people can say that?” she said. “And how many people can say they scored 1,000 points? And I was surrounded by such a great team … I mean, Cherelle and I have been playing together forever. Our team is so close.”

Then Myers paused.

“But,” she said, “we knew it had to come to a close sometime.”

“We were hoping we would have done a little better,” Simmons said quietly. “I’ll miss playing with Teasia … we’ve been playing together for the last four seasons. We came in together, and now we’re leaving together. It’s sad.”

McCloud was distraught.

With about a minute to go in the game, he realized this season was about to end, and he too, like Myers and Simmons, was overcome with emotion and he buried his head in his hands.

“I’m so thankful and I appreciate everything they’ve done for me,” McCloud said of his seniors, fighting back tears.

“I’ll miss them.”

“I loved playing for McCaskey,” said Myers, a first-team all-league selection last season. “Mr. McCloud is a great coach, and his whole coaching staff is great … they’re all just great coaches. I had a good bond with all of them.”

“Basketball season is kind of like your life,” Myers continued. “And I’m going to wake up (Saturday) and it’s all going to be over. It’s going to hurt. But I’ll never forget my time here.”

And McCaskey, in turn, will never forget what Myers and Simmons did for the girls’ basketball program.

NOTES: Senior forward Kelsey Guth pumped in a game-high 22 points and senior forward Emily Suhey, a Villanova recruit, scored 18 points for State College, which improved to 23-4 overall. … The game was tied at 9 after the first quarter, but the Little Lions seized control when senior guard Tara Branigan hit a 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer and State College led 26-22 at the half. … State College pulled away with an 18-7 third-quarter run, sparked by Guth, who scored six points during the spree. The Lions led 44-29 heading into the fourth. … Junior guard Danee Simms hit three second-quarter 3-pointers and added 13 points for McCaskey, which finished its season 17-11 overall. … State College outrebounded McCaskey 44-26. … State College had 26 turnovers; McCaskey 21. … Simmons had two points and five boards in her final game for the Tornado. … Up next for State College is a second-round game on Tuesday against District 1 runner-up Methacton (29-1), which toppled John Bartrum 79-28 on Friday.

State College 58, McCaskey 41
At Tyrone Area Middle School

McCaskey (41)
Myers 8 4-8 20, Pagan 0 1-3 1, Padilla-Alvarado 0 0-3 0, Simms 5 0-0 13, J. Brown 0 2-2 2, Simmons 1 0-0 2, Jackson 0 0-0 0, Lane 0 0-0 0, McNair 1 1-1 3, Bair 0 0-0 0, Q. Brown 0 0-0 0, Brito 0 0-0 0, Colon 0 0-2 0. Totals 15 8-19 41.

State College (58)
Kerr 1 0-0 2, Hart 0 0-0 0, Cooper 3 0-0 8, Torratti 1 0-0 2, Branigan 2 0-0 6, Fluke 0 0-0 0, Sallade 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0, Hughes 0 0-0 0, Suhey 6 4-4 18, McDonald 0 0-0 0, Guth 11 0-0 22. Totals 24 4-4 58.

3-point goals – Simms 3; Branigan 2, Cooper 2, Suhey 2.