By SPENCER BATES
ALLEGANY — Staving off a second-half comeback, the Port Allegany girls basketball team managed to pull out a 34-30 victory over Portville in the opening game of the 50th annual Joe DeCerbo Holiday Showcase.
It was tough sledding for both sides early, but more so for the Panthers as the only points they registered in the first frame came via a quarter-ending buzzer-beater from Emma Rhinehart. The Panthers had a difficult time getting into their offense. They were slow getting set up and numerous passes were easily read by the Gators and picked off.
That being said, things were only marginally better for Port Allegany. They scored 10 straight points to open the game but were up just 10-8 at the end of the first.
Head coach Jamie Evens’ side had its struggles with turnovers as well, noting that ball handling has been a challenge all year for his team. But he remains positive that their difficulties now will only lead to positive outcomes later in the year.
“Our struggle all year (has been) taking care of the basketball,” Evens said. “We’re working on it every day, we’re showing improvement and we still got some room to grow, … but that’s experience that is going to help us at the end of the year.”
But for as slow going as the first half of the affair was, both Portville and Port Allegany found a new gear in the second. Specifically, the Panthers found a level of comfort in the game which allowed them to cut down on the turnovers, move the ball more effectively and hit the open shot. They scored more points in the third quarter than they had managed through the entire first half.
Ali Haynes was the crux of the operation, getting into the high post and either going up for the tough bucket herself or finding an open teammate outside the arc that would knock down the deep ball.
“We tell them that the more touches Ali gets, the more effective they’re going to be from the outside,” Welty said. “I have five nice outside shooters, so I think (seeing that) helped with their confidence level.”
Portville’s Emma Rhinehart (14) launches a 3-pointer against Port Allegany. Rhinehart scored 14 for the Panthers in their loss. (Hunter O. Lyle)
Rinehart benefitted greatly from the improved ball movement and scored a team-high 14 points for Portville. But the X-factor in the game for Welty’s side was freshman Quinn Scott. Not only did she tally seven points, but she asserted herself in every aspect of the game.
“She’s a gamer, how hard she’s playing in the game, she’s practicing that hard too,” Welty said. “She sometimes doesn’t understand how gifted she is athletically, but I think she’s going to figure it out. She’s gritty on defense. She never stops going hard. She’s got a great mindset. She’s coachable. She’s special.”
The Gators had led the grand majority of the contest, but was holding on by a thread down the stretch. They conceded the lead to Portville for the first time with just over six minutes left in the contest.
Their victory would not be wire-to-wire, but thanks to a 19-piece from Peyton Gordon, the Gators were able to buckle down and get the win over the line.
“We knew we had a mismatch early, we thought we had a height advantage with her, so we tried to get it to her inside and I think she had her first 10 points of the game,” Evens said. “That’s really our offense: we look for mismatches and where we can take advantage from game to game. She did a great job.”
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AT ALLEGANY
Port Allegany (34)
Gordon 6 7-12 19, Evens 3 0-0 8, Errick 1 2-2 4, Darush 1 0-0 2, M. Fillhart 0 1-4 1, B. FIllhart 0 0-2 0. Totals: 13 10-20 34
Portville (30)
Rhinehart 6 4-4 14, Scott 4 0-2 7, Haynes 2 1-6 5, Isaman 1 0-0 2, E. Scanlon 1 0-0 2, A. Scanlon 0 0-2 0. Totals: 14 5-14 30
Port A 10 14 20 34
Portv. 2 8 18 30
Three-point goals: Port A 2 (Evens), Portv. 3 (Rhinehart 2, Scott); Total fouls: Port A 9, Portv. 17; Fouled out: Darush (Port A).
