By HUNTER O. LYLE
PORT ALLEGANY, PA – Coming into their second showing, the Otto-Eldred and Port Allegany girl’s basketball teams were as primed as ever for a rematch. Each entering with a string of recent wins by their side, their hot streaks, as well as positioning atop the North Tier League, would be put to the fire.
Battling through four intense, physical and at some points hostile quarters, the Lady Terrors ultimately emerged victorious, besting Port 47-38 as they earned their tenth consecutive win and a season sweep of the Lady Gators.
The two teams originally met at the very beginning of the season on Thursday, Dec. 4. Traveling to the Terror Dome for their second contest of the season, Port’s 26-point loss to O-E came as they stumbled out of the gates, opening their campaign at 2-4. However, in the weeks since, the Lady Gators turned a corner, finding 10 wins in the next 11 games, seven of which were league games.
“Honestly, the schedule got a little easier,” said Port Allegany head coach Jamie Evens, “but we’ve been getting a little bit better each game.”
In the opening minutes of their second encounter with the Lady Terrors, Port seemed eager to show off their progress and development.
Although they lost the jump, the Lady Gators wasted no time retaking the ball as they forced an O-E turnover just seconds into the contest. Coming down to the other side of the court, Jenna Renner turned a post maneuver into two points plus a foul. Converting the three-point play, Port came up with a defensive stop and another score in the paint before Brynn Evens rode the momentum by connecting on a shot from long range.
Despite breaking the seal early with a cut through the paint from Rayel Hakes, the Lady Terrors couldn’t come up with much of a response. Coupled with their shots refusing to fall, including several close to the rim, O-E struggled to win the battle of the boards as Port cleaned the glass for second chance shots or chances at the free throw line.
“We had a couple of girls that weren’t feeling well coming into the game, to be honest. We missed a couple of easy shots, maybe just a little bit too much individual stuff. It looked like five individuals rather than a team,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Shawn Gray. “Coming off a big win against (Clarion-Limestone) on Saturday, I kind of expected it, to be honest. I knew it was going to be a tough game and I think we were up for a little let down after the big win. I think that’s what was probably the reason for the slow start.”
However, late in the first, the Lady Terrors finally rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Hakes again led the charge, coming away with a steal and score in transition that whittled the deficit down to just four points. Ayla Van Scoter then came away with an offensive rebound that gave way to her own three-point play before cashing in on a late triple – thanks to another offensive board from Baylee Francis – and layup that gave O-E a 16-13 lead after the initial eight minutes.
In the second, the feeling out process ended and a scrappy grid lock began.
Leaning on their battle-tested defense, the Lady Terrors managed to gum up the works early, forcing three Port turnovers in the first few minutes. However, despite coming away with looks in transition, their offense failed to finish off open runs. Their first points would come after two empty minutes, with Hakes going 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. Port responded with a perfect trip to the line from Peyton Gordon, but then, once again, both teams went quiet.
Battling through staunch defense as much as they battled themselves – both teams combined for seven turnovers in the second quarter – neither could find a way to take the lid off the rim, seeing another two minutes burn off the clock with the score left unchanged.
“We definitely wore down, at least mentally, and we have a tendency to put our heads down and not see the court ,” said Evens. “Those are things we work on every day and unfortunately we weren’t executing.”
Ultimately, the Lady Gators broke the stalemate, entering the bonus with two and a half minutes remaining in the quarter and sinking both shots. Seeing the ball go through the hoop ignited a late round of tick-for-tack scoring, but the Lady Gators managed to wrestle a 25-22 lead going into the break.
Despite getting a chance to go back to the drawing board, neither team returned to the hardwood with a way to keep their offenses firing. Despite both opening the second half with scores – Jahden Prince knocked down a triple on O-E’s first play while Renner found a path to the rim for the Lady Gators – points were hard to come by. Contact and physicality, on the other hand, were not.
Through the first four and a half minutes, both teams combined for just 10 points, with Port holding a narrow 29-28 lead as defenses stole the spotlight. However, the Lady Terrors finally found their spark, but not from any X’s and O’s.
A controversial call and impassioned discussion on Port’s sidelines gave way to a technical foul. Hakes knocked down one of her two shots at the line, before coming away with five more unanswered points from a post maneuver, a steal and score and another split trip to the line. A tie up and subsequent shove saw O-E step back to the free throw line again, where Franics added two more points to the scoreboard. After struggling to find a way to score, the Lady Terrors had swiftly amassed an 8-0 run.
“They’re tough, they’re tough kids. They’re not going to back down from anybody,” said Gray. “I thought we responded quite well. We were tough where we needed to be and that’s a tribute to the kids and how they were brought up.”
Despite finding themselves down by six late in the quarter, Port remained vigilant. Breah Fillhart ended the drought with a second chance score, before Mady Errick cut the lead back down to one with an and-one opportunity. However, their persistence wouldn’t follow them into the fourth.
Having just one more quarter to exact revenge, the Lady Gators began to crumble under the pressure. Starting on their first touch, Port gave away turnover after turnover, largely in bunches including as they tallied six in the first four minutes
“I definitely think the situation got a little too big for us,” said Evens. “Credit to Otto-Eldred too, they have a nice pressure defense. They have Hakes on the wing, a big wingspan, and we struggled to get the ball around her, but some of it was our inexperience as well, not being able to handle that pressure.”
While they struggled to hold onto the ball, O-E pushed on the gas. Five quick points from Francis widened the gap to a two-possession game, while Smith followed with four more unanswered points of her own. As their offense came alive, the Lady Gators stalled. By the time Port ended their drought, there was just less than a minute on the clock and a seven-point difference on the scoreboard. Redemption had eluded them once again.
Hakes dominated the court in the win, coming away with a game-high 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Van Scoter also ended in double-digit scoring numbers, ending with 10 points as well as four rebounds, two assists and two steals while Francis recorded seven points, seven rebounds and three steals.
For Port, Renner ended with a double-double, having a team-high 11 points and 10 rebounds. Brynn Evens tallied four points and 11 rebounds alongside Joanna Darush’s eight points.
Despite the defeat, all is not lost for the Lady Gators. Sitting at 12-6 overall and 10-2 in the NTL, Port’s chances at a playoff berth are all but sealed already. However, Evens and Co. know there is still work to be done.
“We have a couple of big games this week. We have Austin (on Wednesday) and Cameron County on Friday, so this was kind of the killer week of our schedule,” said Evens. “We’ve got to mentally regroup in the next 24 hours and come ready to play. We have to get ready. We’ve got playoffs ahead and we’ve got to make sure we’re still getting better.”
AT PORT ALLEGANY
Otto-Eldred (47)
Hakes 7 8-10 22, Van Scoter 4 1-1 10, Francis 2 2-4 7, Smith 3 0-0 7, Edmister 0 1-2 1. Totals: 16 12-17 47
Port Allegany (38)
Renner 5 1-1 11, Darush 3 2-2 8, Gordon 0 6-8 6, Errick 2 1-1 5, Evens 1 1-2 4, Mahon 1 2-2 4. Totals: 12 13-16 38
Otto-Eldred 16 22 35 47
Port Allegany 13 25 34 38Three-point goals: O-E (3) Francis, Van Scoter, Smith, PA (1) Evens; Total fouls: O-E 15, PA 13; Fouled out: None.
