P-O girls’ basketball falls in first round of districts; Halle Herrington extends scoring record

It may not have been a storybook ending for Halle Herrington and the Philipsburg-Osceola girls’ basketball team, but it was still quite the season.

No. 9-seed P-O fell to No. 8-seed Central, 37-24, on the road Tuesday night in the first round of the District 6 Class 3A tournament. Central will advance to play top-seed Penns Valley at 7 p.m. Friday in the next round.

Still, it proved to be a memorable campaign for the Lady Mounties — especially considering Herrington set the all-time Centre County scoring record. She ended her prolific career with 14 points Tuesday night to give her 2,331 career points, surpassing former record-holder and 1989 Penns Valley grad Dana McDonald (2,269).

“It’s unfortunate that this is the way a career like hers has to end,” P-O coach Robert Sauerwein said. “But she’s left her stamp on P-O basketball, Centre County basketball and District 6 basketball — a stamp that will forever be remembered.”

Central stormed out to an early lead against the Lady Mounties and cracked P-O’s zone early. That, coupled with offensive rebounds, put Philipsburg-Osceola in a 13-point hole at halftime.

The Lady Mounties did their best to climb out — even with key starter Lindsey Bordas injured in the first half — but they couldn’t cut the deficit to less than 10. In the final two periods, the two teams combined for 17 points apiece.

So, despite the halftime deficit, Sauerwein took pride in the fact his girls didn’t give up.

“I’m really proud of the girls,” he said. “The thing is, I usually only play 5-6 girls a game, so they’ve had a long season. And, for them not to quit and fight until the end, that was a big sign of their character.”

The Lady Mounties finish their season with a 10-12 record.

This story was originally published February 19, 2019 at 9:30 PM.