By HUNTER O. LYLE
DUKE CENTER, PA – Taking to their home court for the first time for the inaugural game of the annual Randy Stebbins Memorial Tournament, the Otto-Eldred girl’s basketball team tacked on a second win to their season with a 51-26 victory over Port Allegany.
Entering Thursday’s contest, both teams had had one game’s worth of experience thus far, however, found different results. While the Lady Gators opened their campaign with a non-league game against Kane, which they lost at home 57-45, the Lady Terrors traveled to Shinglehouse for their initial North Tier League matchup against Oswayo Valley, emerging on top by a wide margin.
“I think we really played well defensively. I think we could have probably scored 70, 80 points in that game if we had made a few more buckets around the basket,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Shawn Gray, whose team beat the Lady Green Wave 50-12. “It’s something to build on. You want to be able to take something away from every game to focus on and work on and I’ve got some workers, that’s for sure.”
After a few moments of getting their legs under them, the Lady Terrors quickly settled into a rhythm and found their flow. Starting with a 3-pointer from Rayel Hakes, O-E leaned into their half-court offense, using constant passing and cuts through the middle to shuffle the defense and create space. With multiple Lady Terrors making their way into the score books, they quickly rattled off 13 unanswered points.
Meanwhile, Port struggled to find any production at all. After Jenna Renner scored the first Lady Gators point of the night with a split trip to the free throw line in the first minute, it would take almost the remainder of the quarter to add to their side of the scoreboard. A stagnant offense gave way to forced shots and contested looks at the basket, however, their biggest hurdle was ball control. Through the opening eight minutes of play, Port surrendered six turnovers, multiple of which came consecutively.
“It comes down to inexperience and lack of strength, honestly,” said Port Allegany head coach Jamie Evens on the turnovers. “We’re not very strong with the ball and whether it’s pressure defense or just throwing passes, we kind of struggle to get it where we need to go. It’s not something we’re going to turn around overnight, but we’re going to try to build on it as the year goes on.”
Heading into the second quarter of play down 15-4, the Lady Gators refocused their offense to the post, where they attempted to expose the height mismatch with O-E’s second unit. Out of the gates, the plan seemed to work, with Renner scoring back-to-back baskets from down low in the first minute and change. But while their offense seemed to be settling in for the moment, Port’s defense couldn’t find the same production as the Lady Terrors answered each made field goal with one of their own.
With Hakes leading the Lady Terrors in the second quarter, scoring six points in the period, O-E continued to build on their lead and entered halftime up 30-11. Although they had firm control of the momentum in the first half, O-E fell into a lull to begin the second.
Both teams struggled in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Combining for eight turnovers and a swath of missed shots, neither could make their way into the scoring column for much of the first four minutes. However, the Lady Terrors would find their spark in the form of Baylee Francis.
Breaking O-E’s dormancy, Francis took the reins, starting with a made 3-pointer and subsequent foul. Converting the four-point-play, she then remained aggressive, drawing another foul and sinking both shots at the charity stripe before connecting on another shot from distance, scoring nine consecutive Lady Terror points.
“(Francis) had a huge impact. Baylee just brings it at both ends. She’s a great defender, whether it’s on the ball or help, she rebounds her tail off, she sees the floor so well on offense, she can get to the basket, shoot the three,” said Gray. “She’s just one of those players that we’re lucky to have. I have a lot of those on my team and she’s right at the top of the list, no doubt.”
Facing a lively opponent once again, Port failed to get out of their own way. Giving away seven more turnovers throughout the period, the Lady Gators entered the fourth looking up at a 44-19 deficit.
Holding a massive advantage already, the Lady Terrors began switching in substitutes sooner rather than later and as Port continued to struggle to score, they relented not long after. As the final minutes drained off the clock, one team added a second win to their record, while the other walked off in defeat once again.
For the second time in as many games, the Lady Terrors had seven players enter the scoring column, with three reaching double-digit figures against Port. Hakes and Jahden Smith finished with 12 each. Hakes recorded six rebounds and Smith tallied three steals, while Alya Van Scoter ended with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.
For the Lady Gators, Evens ended with a double-double, scoring a team-high 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Mady Errick also had 10 rebounds, also coming away with two points and three assists while Renner ended with eight points and seven rebounds.
Both teams will compete on Saturday, in the final day of the Stebbins tournament. Port will play in the girl’s consolation game, taking on either Bradford or Allegany-Limestone, who will play on Friday at 4:30 p.m., while O-E awaits the championship game at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
“We’re going to face a tough test whether it’s Bradord of Allegany-Limestone,” said Gray, “but it’s just nice to be playing at 3 o’clock with a chance to go 3-0 and win the tournament and get the first goal of our season over with.”
AT DUKE CENTER
Port Allegany (25)
Evens 3 2-4 10, Renner 3 2-6 8, Gordon 1 1-2 3, Errick 1 0-0 2, Fillhart 0 0-2 0. Totals: 9 5-15 25
Otto-Eldred (51)
Hakes 5 1-1 12, Smith 4 2-2 12, Van Scoter 5 0-1 11, Francis 2 3-3 9, Prince 2 0-0 4, Edminster 1 0-0 2, Bickford 0 1-2 1, Irons 0 0-4 0. Totals: 19 7-13 51
Port Allegany 4 11 19 25
Otto-Eldred 15 30 44 51
Three-point goals: PA (2) Evens 2, O-E (6) Smith 2, Francis 2, Hakes, Van Scoter; Total fouls: PA 15, O-E 16; fouled out: Gordon (PA).
JV: Otto-Eldrd 29, Port Allegany 26
