JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Beavers rally from 11-point deficit, roar into second round of PIAA playoffs.
HERSHEY – Kicking it old school – Hersheypark Arena style.
Gotta love that.
Lebanon Catholic’s girls’ basketball team certainly did, making the old barn their own personal playground in the second half of the Beavers’ PIAA Single-A first-round game Saturday afternoon against District 1 runner-up Girard College.
In one dominating four-minute clip, Lebanon Catholic outscored the Cavaliers 13-0, overcoming a 32-21 deficit to grab a 34-32 lead on the way to a 57-46 victory.
Here’s the other cool number from that four-minute span:
Girard College, which led 26-20 at the half and 36-33 heading into the fourth quarter, didn’t squeeze off a single shot in that span.
“That’s pretty good defense,” Lebanon Catholic coach Patti Hower said. “We came out and went after them a little bit.”
The Beavers actually turned up their seldom-used press. And it worked for the District 3 runners-up.
“We’re not a great pressing team because we’re not an overly fast team,” Hower said. “But I thought the difference in the game was when we slapped the press on them. They starting turning the ball over. We had to change the pace somewhere.”
Trailing 32-21 with three minutes to go in the third, the Beavers flipped the switch, pressing and trapping and getting the Cavaliers on the defensive. Girard College (21-9) turned the ball over 10 times in the third quarter.
And when Lebanon Catholic senior guard Samantha Carangelo ripped a deep 3-pointer at the third-quarter horn, the Beavers had it down to 36-33.
“That was a big momentum swinger,” Hower said of Carangelo’s NBA-range 3. “That got our momentum going for sure.”
Lebanon Catholic (15-13) tied the game at 33 when Rachel Shirk drilled a 3 to continue the spree, which all started with a little extra D.
“Our press really helped,” said Carangelo, who scored 12 points, giving her 987 career points.
“When we put the press on, they had to call a timeout right away because they were shaky against it. We were pretty shaky for a while, but we pulled it together.”
Behind sophomore guard Hailey Carangelo, Sam’s little sister, who went bananas in the second half, scoring 21 of her 27 points – which matched her season high. She scored 27 points on Jan. 22 against Columbia.
Hailey Carangelo splashed a pair of 3-pointers during the Beavers’ third-quarter tear.
She was unstoppable.
“Hailey hit some big shots that really got us going,” Hower noted. “That’s what she’s capable of doing. I’m really glad to see that when the game was on the line, she took over.”
And just in time, because things were looking bleak for the Beavers. Girard College senior point guard Sharae McCottry dominated early, scoring 19 of her 25 points in the first half. Lebanon Catholic had no answer for her.
So Hower challenged Beavers’ junior guard Kelsey Boehmer to step up her defense on McCottry – which she did, holding her to just six second-half points.
Hower also reminded her team that this was a single-elimination tournament.
“I told them that they had about 10 minutes, or their season was over,” she said. “Being down 11 and fighting back … that was nice to see.”
It was also nice to be back in Hersheypark Arena. Wow, the place hasn’t changed a bit. They didn’t touch anything; the signs, the banners. Yeah, it needs some fresh paint. And there are plenty of dust bunnies and cracks. But what a cool place. Nice to be back in the old barn, if only for an afternoon.
NOTES: Lebanon Catholic’s Meghan Orr went down with a left wrist injury just before the half. She did return, but didn’t score in the second half. … Kelsey Boehmer chipped in with 10 points for the Beavers, who finished third in Section 4 of the L-L League before falling to Reading Central Catholic in the District 3 finale.
Lebanon Catholic 57, Girard College 46
At Hersheypark Arena
Lebanon Catholic (57)
Wengert 0 2-2 2, Orr 1 0-0 2, Shirk 1 1-3 4, Boehmer 3 4-8 10, H. Carangelo 10 3-4 27, S. Carangelo 5 0-3 12. Totals 20 10-20 57.
Girard College (46)
Zisengwe 0 0-0 0, Shaquira McCottry 2 3-5 8, Sharae McCottry 11 0-2 25, Diaz 1 0-0 2, Cook 0 1-2 1, Idowu 0 0-0 0, Blye-Coleman 3 2-2 8, Davis-Wiles 0 0-0 0, Udogwu 0 0-0 0, Moncrieffe 0 0-0 0, Faarlow 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 6-11 46.
3-pointers – H. Carangelo 2, S. Carangelo 2, Shirk; Sharae McCottry 3, Shaquira McCottry.
