By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
PORTVILLE, NY – Taking to the road for their second of three games in three days, the Otto-Eldred girls’ basketball team brought home their second win in a row, beating Portville 39-31.
In recent weeks, the Lady Terrors had been in full swing. After a loss to the North Tier League-leading Port Allegany Lady Gators to open the season, O-E responded with a vengeance, winning the next nine games in a row. However, on Friday, that run came to an end with an upset loss to Oswayo Valley.
“That was a devastating game. We still haven’t gotten that bad taste out of our mouth,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Shawn Gray. “Unfortunately, I haven’t done a real good job of letting it go myself and I think it’s impacted the girls.”
While they got back on the right track with a win on Monday against Johnsonburg, the Lady Terrors still seemed out of rhythm against Portville. In the opening quarter, O-E’s offense struggled to find their footing as bad passing, missed open looks and miscommunications plagued the hardwood. However, the Lady Terrors’ defense remained intact.
Implementing a 1-3-1 zone defensive scheme, O-E pressured the Lady Panthers into several high-stress traps and double teams, producing forced shots and mistakes from their opponents, as well as a 9-1 run to close out the first quarter.
“When we stayed calm and relaxed and tried to move the ball, we were effective. When we panicked and tried to do something in the first 10 seconds, we turned the ball over which is pretty much what we’ve been doing,” said Portville head coach Igna Welty. “We got off a ton of shots, we just weren’t hitting them.”
In the next eight minutes of play, the Lady Terrors continued to stress test Portville, this time with a concerted effort to push the pace. Using long outlets and fluid upstream ball movement, O-E found easy opportunities under the basket. On the other side of the floor, the Lady Panthers shied away from the long ball shots they had taken in the first, instead choosing to look inside for drives and post options.
After another scoring stretch from O-E midway through the period – this time at 7-0 – they managed to build a nine-point lead. However, Emma Rhinehart would cut into the deficit just before the buzzer with her second triple of the night. At the break, Portville found themselves still within striking distance, down 23-17.
Throughout the third quarter, both teams would score tick-for-tack, albeit with an equal amount of infrequency. The Lady Terrors continued to use their ball and player movement to cut through the Lady Panthers half-court defense, while Portville began finding gaps in the zone defense for layups or drive-and-dish chances on the perimeter. Heading into the fourth quarter, the gap on the scoreboard had only grown to seven.
In the final eight minutes, the difference in experience showed on the court. The Lady Terrors, having several returning starters and battle-tested players, shook off the pressure of the moment, while the Lady Panthers panicked.
Addie Bell (right) blocks Emma Rhinehart’s jump shot during the Lady Terrors’ win over Portville. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
“I think (us panicking) is our lack of experience being put in those kinds of situations. We lost all those kids from last year and now the younger kids have to be the ones who step up and make things happen,” said Welty, whose team lost six seniors to graduation. “I still think we’re trying to figure it out.”
Desperate to cut into the lead, Portville began forcing up shots from beyond the arc but to no avail. When unable to find the breathing room to get off a shot, hurried passes resulted in several Lady Panther turnovers, which in turn only fed O-E’s side of the scoreboard. With the game sitting at an eight point difference and just under a minute left on the clock, Portville turned the ball over three times in a row, all but putting the final nail in the Lady Panthers’ night.
After a few intentional fouls, O-E sealed the game at the free throw line, handing Portville their fourth straight loss.
Baylee Francis carried the offensive load for O-E with 12 points while Ayla Van Scoter had eight. Rhinehart and Addison Isaman led the way for Portville with double-digit scoring performances. Rhinehart finished with 15 points, knocking down four 3-pointers along the way, while Isaman ended with three triples and 10 points overall.
“We just want to stay healthy right now. We battled sickness a couple of weeks ago, now it seems like we’re battling it again and we’re not the deepest team. We’ve got some of these younger kids involved and get our starters some more rest during the games,” said Gray. “This is our eleventh win of the year so we’re playoff bound and we’re still alive in the NTL. We haven’t lost our focus on our future destinations.”
AT PORTVILLE
Otto-Eldred (39)
Francis 5 0-0 12, Van Scoter 4 0-0 8, Drummond 2 0-0 6, Hakes 2 2-4 6, Prince 2 0-0 5, Bell 0 2-2 2. Totals: 15 5-9 39
Portville (31)
Rhinehart 5 1-2 15, Isaman 3 1-1 10, Carls 0 4-4 4, Haynes 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 6-9 31
Otto-Eldred 12 23 33 39
Portville 7 17 26 31
Three-point goals: O-E (4) Drummond 2, Francis, Prince, PV (7) Rhinehart 4, Isaman 3; Total fouls: O-E 8, PV 11; fouled out: None.
JV: Otto-Eldred 33, Portville 12
