Jamie Evens announces retirement after semifinal elimination
By HUNTER O. LYLE
BRADFORD, PA – Despite finding some life in the fourth quarter, the Port Allegany girls’ basketball team’s dreams of a return to the District 9 title game fell shy of reality as continuous errors and mishaps piled up in the form of a 56-47 loss to Kane.
As the Lady Gators entered the playoffs, holding the No. 4 seed in the four-team Class 2A bracket, they did so with a ten-day cushion. Having last played in the North Tier League Tournament finals, a game where they lapses in fundamentals produced a third loss to Otto-Eldred, Port used their break in the action to go back to the basics.
“We focused on trying to break a 1-3-1 (zone defense) and taking care of the basketball,” said Port Allegany head coach Jamie Evens. “We got a scrimmage in so I thought we did a lot of good work.”
Enacting a triangle-and-two defense, where three defenders hold down a zone in the paint and the other pair stay glued on the top opposing scorers, Port initially aimed to bog down Kane’s Addison Haight, the Lady Wolves’ sophomore standout who already crested 1,000 career points. Although they succeeded in preventing her from making it to the scorebooks, the rest of Kane’s cast held them in front.
Pushing the tempo with quick strikes on both offense and defense, the Lady Wolves jumped out to an early, albeit slim, lead, starting with a steal and score from Casey Wymer. Meanwhile, Port’s own offense focused on hard-nose trips into the paint, with Jenna Renner finding multiple touches on the low block and Payton Gordon collecting several early offensive rebounds. However, although the found point-blank looks at the rim, nothing seemed to fall, forcing them to spend the first four minutes without a basket.
After ultimately breaking the drought with a 3-pointer from Brynn Evens, Port managed to make up for their shortcomings in the last few minutes. With an outlet pass from the opposite baseline finding Renner for a transition basket followed by another deep shot from Evens, Port trailed the Lady Wolves by just a single point heading into the second quarter.
Payton Gordon tosses up a contested floater during the first half of Port’s loss to the Lady Wolves in the District 9 semifinals. Controlling the glass, Gordon ended with 10 rebounds throughout the loss. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
“Tonight (Brynn) was all of our offense. We knew that that short corner and the 3-pointer in the corner were going to be open. We practiced that and knew if we had that and (Kane) started to cover her, we had an overlook play drawn up,” said Jamie Evens. “Luckily, she was hot. It was probably her best shooting night of the year.”
Despite entering the next period of play with budding momentum, Port soon ran into a common wall. All season long, the Lady Gators’ kryptonite had undoubtedly been the full-court-press, and against Kane, it was no different.
After surrendering seven giveaways in the first eight minutes, the Lady Gators turnover troubles only grew in the next eight, starting with one on their first touch of the quarter. Struggling to contend with pesky hands in the passing lane from the moment they inbounded the ball, Port’s offense began to panic, starting a downward spiral of cyclical mistakes. As more turnovers piled up, more desperation ensued. As the Lady Gators became more desperate, they succumbed to poor communication, errant passes and empty possessions.
To make matters worse, Haight’s slump quickly came to an end. Kicking off the quarter with a steal and made 3-pointer, her first field goal of the game, Haight led the Lady Wolves on a 7-0 run, having a hand in every successful trip down the court. As Kane continued to blow up Port’s offense, forcing eight turnovers through the same amount of minutes, the Lady Wolves quickly grew their lead, holding a 26-19 advantage going into halftime.
“It’s not difficult pressure. We panicked and we kind of played into their hands. We talked about the areas of the court that we thought were wide open and we just dribbled the ball too much and dribbled into traps,” said Jamie Evens. “It’s the same stuff we’ve been doing all year and unfortunately we were never able to correct it.”
Returning to the hardwood after the brief intermission, whatever the Lady Gators drew up on the chalkboard failed to translate to the court. Despite scoring on their first touch of the half – another offensive rebound from Gordon fed Mady Errick underneath – Port’s offense failed to gain traction thereafter.
Even without facing a full-court-press, the Lady Gators’ struggled to hold onto the ball, instead continuing to hemorrhage possessions and points as Kane’s lead surpassed double-digits. Led by Haight, the Lady Wolves swiftly turned steals into transition points, scoring inside and out as they built a 40-29 lead with one quarter to go.
With just eight minutes to salvage their season, the early goings of the fourth looked bleak for the Lady Gators. Although their turnovers had disappeared, their offense still couldn’t find a rhythm, adding just one point to the scoreboard through the first two minutes of play. However, then the tide began to change.
Starting with another second chance score from Renner, the Lady Gators finally began chipping away at the lead. Although the Lady Wolves initially responded, scoring on a drive inside on their next trip down the court, Port remained persistent. After two made shots at the free throw line from Gordon and a fourth triple from Brynn Evens, they managed to trim the lead down to single digits.
“During the run, we just took care of the basketball better,” said Jamie Evens. “We got some turnovers and some transition baskets, got a little flow going.”
However, just as they were sparking a potential comeback, the floor began to give out. The aggressiveness which had held Kane to just five points in four minutes came at a cost, and with just under three minutes remaining, placed the Lady Wolves in the bonus. Making the most of their trips to the free throw line, as well as finding a late 5-0 run, Kane held the Lady Gators at bay, sealing their trip to the Class 2A championship.
“It was a disappointing season. I thought we had the ability to go a little further than we did. I just told them in the locker room that we were still making the same mistakes we were on November 15 and that’s as much on me as it is them,” said Jamie Evens. “We could never quite figure out how to correct that.”
Hitting six triples along the way, Brynn Evens ended her high school basketball career with a double-double, posting a career-high 23 points alongside 11 rebounds. Gordon also had 11 rebounds to go with her 10 points and four assists, while Renner finished with nine points and Mady Errick recorded two points and 10 rebounds.
While the Lady Gators will lose five seniors to graduation this offseason, they will also lose their leadership. After eight years on the sidelines, head coach Jamie Evens has decided to step away from the Orange and Black.
“It’s bitter sweet, but this is my last season. In my nine years, eight of those seasons were with my daughters,” said Jamie Evens. “I’m happy to be able to look back and that I could share that time and spend that time with them. We had a lot of success but it’s on to the next thing.”
AT BRADFORD
Port Allegany (47)
Evens 8 1-4 23, Gordon 2 6-7 10, Renner 3 2-4 9, Errick 1 0-0 2, Mahon 1 0-0 2, Fillhart 0 1-4 1. Totals: 15 10-19 47
Kane (56)
Haight 10 4-8 26, Olmstead 5 4-5 14, Boschert 3 0-2 6, Wymer 2 0-0 4, Waite 1 1-2 3, Petrof 1 0-0 3, Ely 0 0-4 0. Totals: 22 9-21 56
Port Allegany 8 19 29 47
Kane 9 26 40 56Three-point goals: PA (6) Evens 6, Renner, KN (3) Haight 2, Petrof; Total fouls: PA 17, KN 20; Fouled out: Gordon (PA), Wymer (KN).
