Lady Rockets secure Section 3-A crown
John F. Brothers | 缅北禁地
Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Jamie Lawrence (13) breaks away from California鈥檚 Dominque Gaston (22) and heads for the basket during Thursday鈥檚 Section 3-A game at California Area High School.
John F. Brothers | 缅北禁地
California鈥檚 Jenna Miller (3) tries to stop Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Nicole Venick (33) after Venick pulled in a rebound under the Lady Trojans鈥� basket during Thursday鈥檚 Section 3-A game at California Area High School.
Jefferson-Morgan's Jamie Lawrence (13) tries to block the shot of California's Jenna Miller (3) during Thursday's Section 3-A action at California Area High School.
Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Kayla Yorko (14) tries to maneuver around California鈥檚 Ina Helmick (11) during their Section 3-A game, Jan. 28, at California Area High School. Yorko scored her 1,000th career point during the Lady Rockets鈥� victory over Mapletown. (Photo by John F. Brothers, 缅北禁地)
The Lady Trojans鈥� Bailey Vig (12) finds a clear lane to the hoop against Jefferson-Morgan. Cal takes on Sto-Rox in a WPIAL Class AA playoff game tonight.
California's Bailey Vig (12) breaks across the court with the ball while being chased by Jefferson-Morgan's Erin Confortini (15) during Thursday's Section 3-A game at California Area High School.
COAL CENTER 鈥� There will be something a little bit different in Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 High School gymnasium next year.
The numbers 2015-16 will be up on the previously blank girls basketball section title banner, as the Lady Rockets pulled off a 41-34 victory over rival California in front of an electric crowd Thursday night to claim the school鈥檚 first ever section championship in the 缅北禁地 Girls Game of the Week.
鈥淎t the end of every practice we look at that (section) banner with no numbers on it,鈥� J-M coach Chris Niemiec said. 鈥淲inning the section has been our goal since Day 1, and it feels awesome to win the section with this great group of girls. We knew it was our time, and to do it here against an excellent California team is very special.鈥�
The Section 3-A triumph extends the Lady Rockets鈥� winning streak to 14 games, who improve to 12-0 in the section and 17-1 overall.
Ally Bogden tallied nine of her team-high 10 points in the fourth quarter, while Kayla Yorko and Nikki Venick collected nine apiece.
鈥淚鈥檝e been dreaming of winning a section title since I was five years old,鈥� Yorko said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been our main goal and right now it doesn鈥檛 even feel real. Words can鈥檛 describe this feeling. I鈥檓 so proud of this team and I wouldn鈥檛 want to win a title with any other team than this one.鈥�
The Lady Trojans (12-7, 10-2) were led by Bailey Vig (14) and Jenna Miller (12).
In a battle of two of the top defensive teams in all of the WPIAL, with both squads allowing an average of 30 points per game, it came down to a back-and-forth fourth quarter.
鈥淏oth teams are stout on defense,鈥� Cal coach Chris Minerd said. 鈥淲e knew that this was going to be a fight. I鈥檓 really proud of the girls for their effort and for all the people in the crowd coming out tonight. This has been the loudest game in my nine years here. Jefferson鈥檚 experience put them over the top. We made too many mental mistakes and missed our lay-ups.鈥�
J-M increased its lead to 31-23 after a 5-1 run to start the final quarter, but Cal responded with nine straight points to retake the lead at 32-31.
After a low-post bucket by Bogden gave the Lady Rockets the lead back, the Lady Trojans added a pair of free throws to take a 34-33 advantage with 2:26 left in regulation.
鈥淲e went to our press and got some traps in the corners,鈥� Minerd said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it caught them off guard, but I think with the atmosphere they panicked a little bit. We never quit and we did a good job. We gave it our best and it鈥檚 hard to play perfect against a team like Jefferson.鈥�
J-M used its veteran experience to withstand all of the emotions of the contest, as the team went 8-of-11 at three free throw line to grab the lead back for good.
Erin Confortini and Bogden nailed a pair of foul shots down the stretch to give the Lady Rockets a 37-34 with 1:28 remaining. Bogden made three more free throws to secure the history-making win for J-M.
鈥淚t was do-or-die for us in the fourth quarter,鈥� Bogden said. 鈥淲e all knew the importance of this one and we wanted this game really bad. This is an amazing feeling and I knew I had to step up my game late. We battled through so much and to win the section means so much to us.鈥�
The Lady Trojans carried an 8-7 lead into the second quarter after all eight points were scored by Vig.
After an old-fashioned three-point play by Miller opened up the scoring in the second, J-M scored seven straight points, via a trey by Yorko and baskets from Jamie Lawrence and Venick.
鈥淲e had to guard their shooters and we couldn鈥檛 let them get a free shot,鈥� Yorko said. 鈥淭hey are a good team and I thought our defense carried us tonight. All five players were communicating and we knew we had to do our jobs to be successful tonight.鈥�
Cal scored the final five points of the quarter, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Miller to give the home team a 16-14 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, J-M scored 10 unanswered points and the run was capped by threes from Yorko and Anna Mattish.
鈥淲e rotate a lot on defense and our bigs do a good job of protecting the paint,鈥� Niemiec said. 鈥淥bviously, both teams are good on defense, so we were looking for that one big run. We started the second half with good ball movement and our girls hit some outside shots.鈥�
Cal regrouped and collected six of the final eight points of the quarter to cut the deficit to 26-22 at the end of three.