By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
DUKE CENTER, PA – Fueled by their senior leadership, the Otto-Eldred girls’ basketball team stormed through the opening round of the PIAA state tournament, beating Geibel Catholic 65-45 as they earned a spot in the second round.
The Lady Terrors are no stranger to the state bracket. Having made it to this stage three times in the past five years, the last time they walked onto this stage was in 2023, when they won the schools’ first District 9 championship before making it to the Elite Eight. While they missed out on a district banner this year, they came into PIAA play as the second seed from D9.
“You know that if you lose, you’re done but that’s kind of the fun of it too. All the preparation is focused on this one thing,” said Shawn Gray. “With the finality of it, we know with the next loss, this all ends. I don’t know if that had a lot to do with the girls’ attitudes going into today, but I had no idea that they were going to come out and perform the way they did.”
While the Lady Terrors have typically started games slowly in the past few matchups, savoring the feeling-out process, they burst out of the gates against the Lady Gators, starting with a Rayel Hakes steal and score on the first possession of the game. Facing a GC 2-3 zone, O-E efficiently moved the ball with crisp passing to open up lanes both inside and out. Addie Bell would score five consecutive points, cashing in on a 3-pointer and short jumper, before Carrie Drummond hit another triple to push the lead to 10-2.
On defense, the Lady Terrors stunted the Lady Gators. Implementing their own zone, albeit a 1-3-1, O-E forced turnovers in bunches as well as misses close to the rim with collapsing help defense. Holding GC scoreless for the final three minutes, the Lady Terrors sparked a 6-0 run to close out the first quarter, amassing a 18-7 lead.
Switching to man-to-man defense, GC took away the Lady Terrors ability to easily create space. However, while O-E couldn’t score at will with easy looks at the basket, they refused to stop penetrating. Leaning into their physicality, they chose to pursue the tougher looks at the rim, earning several trips to the free throw line. Padding their lead with efficient shooting at the line, O-E built a 16-point lead with three and a half minutes left in the half.
“We’ve been trying to become more physical as the year’s gone on. Honestly, I think we’ve backed down from a few teams and played a little passive,” said Gray. “That was one of the notes I had going in. Passivity and not being aggressive was not going to work. We had to be aggressive at all times. I think they took that to heart.”
In the final minutes of the first half, the game began to pick up speed once again. Both teams would favor volume over quality as they raced up and down the court. However, they would each find efficient production, scoring back-and-forth with O-E narrowly outsourcing GC 8-6 before the break. Heading into the intermission, the Lady Terrors lead had grown to 35-18.
“I was super satisfied with the first half. We’re a defensive-first team for sure but when our kids are confident behind (the 3-point line) and they see a couple go through, it’s like an avalanche at times. It’s contagious,” said Gray. “It’s not alway one person, it’s just contagious and everyone gets confident. If we’re hitting shots, we’re a tough team to beat.”
To start the second half, O-E continued to relentlessly attack the rim. Still facing a man-to-man defense, their ball movement, screens and player movement found cracks in the Lady Gators armor, allowing for O-E to come away with points in the paint or trips to the charity stripe. Midway through the period, Baylee Francis would put the Lady Terrors up 21 with a backdoor cut and score.
Meanwhile, GC looked to chip away at the deficit as quickly as possible, literally. Ramping up their own pace with coast-to-coast drives and outlet passes, the Lady Gators hoped to find O-E’s 1-3-1 defense out of position. While their strategy did produce points, it hurt them more than it helped. Forcing the ball up the court, GC’s rushed offense led to missed layups and unforced turnovers, which O-E took advantage of.
Finding themselves up by 19 to start the final quarter, the Lady Terrors slowed the game down to a concentrated crawl. Burning clock while still looking for avenues to the rim, O-E continuously poked holes in GC’s 2-3 zone as they awaited their win. For the Lady Gators, on the other hand, their desperation manifested in pull-up 3-pointers, few of which drew iron.
As their time dwindled and players began to foul out, the Lady Gators realized the end was near. While the Lady Gators’ season came to an abrupt end far from home, O-E was able to celebrate one last time in the Terror Dome.
“I told the girls after last Saturday (the D9 championship), they could have easily said the heck with it, we had a great year and kind of thrown in the towel, but they did the opposite,” said Gray. “I’m so happy that Carrie and Addie got to go out winning their last game (at home) since they lost on Senior Night. They can say they won their last game in this gym and that means a lot to them.”
Three Lady Terrors ended in double-digit scoring throughout the win. Seniors Bell and Drummond each scored 17 points, hitting a combined four 3-pointers, while Hakes tallied 14 points in the win. Ayla Van Scoter ended with nine points while Francis finished with eight.
Looking forward, O-E will take on Williamsburg (D6-4) in the second round. That contest will take place on Wednesday, March 12 at a time and place yet to be announced.
“It’s going to be tough (to prepare for Wednesday.) I’m not going to be doing much tomorrow besides watching film that’s for sure,” said Gray. “My wife’s going to have to bear with the laptop on, the TV on, the iPad going and all kinds of stuff but we’ll have a plan of attack for sure.”
AT DUKE CENTER
Geibel Catholic (45)
Larkin 8 4-5 22, Clemmer 4 0-0 10, Henderson 3 0-2 6, Waggett 2 0-0 4, Darnell 1 1-4 3. Totals: 18 5-11 45
Otto-Eldred (65)
Bell 4 7-12 17, Drummond 7 1-2 17, Hakes 5 4-6 14, Van Scoter 4 0-0 9, Francis 3 2-4 8. Totals: 23 14-24 65
Geibel Catholic 7 18 32 45
Otto-Eldred 18 35 51 65Three-point goals: GC (4) Clemmer 2, Larkin 2, O-E (5) Drummond 2, Bell 2, Van Scoter; Total fouls: GC 18, O-E 10; fouled out: Henderson (GC).
