By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
ALLEGANY COUNTY, NY – Despite turnover troubles, the Portville girls’ basketball team eked out a win over Cuba Rushford, completing the season sweep with a 33-23 win on the road.
Already seeing each other for the second time, the Lady Panthers and Lady Rebels were fresh in each others’ memory. Meeting for their respective season openers, Portville managed to take down C-R 49-38 on Friday, Dec. 6.
“We’ve had very little practice in between meetings because of our other games. I mean it’s nice because you know what to expect,” said Portville head coach Inga Welty. “The downfall is not having enough time to show growth before you play them again.”
The Lady Rebels came ready to play, especially on the defensive end. As Portville attempted to feed their big, Ali Haynes, C-R’s 2-3 zone collapsed on top of her. Forcing turnovers, swatting away shots and crowding the paint, the Lady Rebels smothered the Lady Panthers into a scoreless submission.
However, on the other side of the floor, Portville’s defense was just as potent. Running a man-to-man scheme, the Lady Panthers prevented C-R from gaining any breathing room for a shot. With dueling defenses, the first basket was scored four minutes into the contest with neither team breaking double-digit points through the first quarter.
Straying away from the post-centric offense and instead looking for drives and jumpshots, Portville aimed to dismantle their opponent’s zone with ball movement. However, pesky Lady Rebel defenders forced turnover after turnover. In all, Portville would give up eight turnovers in the second quarter. Despite their give-aways, the Lady Panthers’ transition defense held strong, keeping C-R off the scoreboard with tough contested shots.
Midway through the period, C-R would find a groove. Holding the Lady Panthers scoreless for over five minutes with constant steals, the Lady Rebels kicked off a 5-0 run that would put them in front going into the break.
“I called a timeout and just said to the girls that we’re not playing how we’re capable of playing,” said Welty on her team’s offensive struggles. “We weren’t moving at all on offense. We were just expecting other people to shoot instead of the people that were actually open. That’s part of the growth of the inexperience the girls have.”
Coming into the third quarter, the Lady Panthers went back to their basics, feeding the post with varying success. As Haynes and Ashley Carls battled for position in the paint, mistimed and sloppy passes continued to produce turnovers. However, C-R’s offense failed to materialize despite the fastbreak opportunities. A scattered, yet unanswered, 6-0 scoring run late in the period, sparked by a steal and score from Haynes, put Portville up 18-16 heading into the final quarter.
Ali Haynes earns a trip to the charity stripe for the Lady Panthers during their win over the Lady Rebels. Haynes ended with 10 points. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Over the initial minutes of the fourth quarter, the lead would swap hands several times. After C-R’s Lilly Farwell ripped down an offensive rebound for two second-chance points and the lead, Portville’s Emma Rhinehart would cash in a running floater to respond immediately after.
However, this tick-for-tack battle would only last so long. Part way through the period, the Lady Rebels’ offense would run dry, going scoreless for the better part of four minutes. In the meantime, Portville took advantage. Rhinehart would score off an offensive rebound before Haynes tacked on three points from two trips to the charity stripe. She then connected on a post fade, pushing the lead to seven with just a minute left.
Although the Lady Rebels still were within striking range, their offense couldn’t shake off the rust. Despite Portville’s streaky shooting from the free throw line on intentional fouls, C-R couldn’t cut the deficit. As the final horn sounded, Portville celebrated their fourth win while the Lady Rebels mourned their second loss.
Rhinehart and Haynes both ended in double-digit scoring for the Lady Panthers. Rhinehart ended with 12 points while Haynes finished with 10.
“A win is a win,” said Welty. “Unfortunately, we have no time to practice because tomorrow we play Allegany-Limestone. We kind of just have to hope that we grow from today’s game for tomorrow’s game.”
AT ALLEGANY COUNTY
Portville (33)
Rhinehart 5 1-4 12, Haynes 2 6-8 10, Edwards 1 4-6 6, Carls 2 1-2 5. Totals: 10 12-20 33
Cuba-Rushford (23)
Tompkins 4 1-2 9, Farwell 3 2-4 8, Williams 1 0-0 3, Lavery 1 1-2 3. Totals: 9 4-8 23
Portville 7 10 18 33
Cuba-Rushford 6 11 16 23
Three-point goals: PRT (1) Rhinehart, CBR (1) Williams; Total fouls: PRT 16, CBR 21; fouled out: Farwell (C-R)
JV: Portville 45, Cuba Rushford 15
