Penns Valley girls’ basketball tops Central in district playoffs

The Penns Valley girls’ basketball team had an eight-day break going into its District 6 Class AA quarterfinal matchup with Central on Friday. The break was partially responsible for the Lady Rams’ season-high 26 turnovers.

“We haven’t played in over a week, “ Penns Valley coach Karen McCaffery, said. “And I knew that was going to effect us. We came out rusty.”

The Lady Rams shook off the rust to knock off the Scarlet Dragons 49-40 at Tyrone High School.

The win sends them to the semifinals on Tuesday against Marion Center at a site and time to be announced. The Stingers upset No. 2 seed Tyrone 43-36.

Rusty was a good term as Penns Valley came away from the first quarter with only three points. However, the Lady Ram defense was dominant enough to make up for the lack of offense. The Lady Rams held Central to five points, as Mackenzie Ironside’s 3-pointer with 50 seconds left in the quarter marked Penns Valley’s lone score.

The second quarter would turn out to be the difference of the game. Penns Valley’s shots finally started to fall with an 8-0 run, with six different Lady Rams scoring during a 14-point quarter. Central’s only scores came from a jumper shot from Paige Long. Tierney Fernandos and Cassie Mock added a single free-throw each.

Lady Ram Maci Ilgen started off the fourth quarter with a jump shot after a power dribble to the basket. The junior scored seven of her team-high 17 points in the quarter. Central coach Rob Mock cited Ilgen as a key reason for the loss and had warned his team about the junior.

“Two years ago when I watched her play, she wasn’t even a starter and I had said to my other coaches ‘I don’t understand why that girl isn’t on the floor,” Mock said. “She has what you can’t teach, and that’s heart.”

Ilgen also pulled down 11 rebounds to complete her double-double.

The third quarter was also a highlight for Lady Dragon Hannah Johnston. The junior scored 13 of her game-high 26 points in the quarter.

“I have a lot of respect for her,” McCaffery said. “She’s improved every game that we’ve seen her. She’s tall for a guard which gives us matchup problems because she can shoot over most of our guards, but she’s too quick for our post players.”

Johnston wouldn’t be a problem for the long for the Lady Rams, who led 31-23 to start the fourth. She scored two key 3-pointers and was 4 for 4 in foul shots to bring the game within five before fouling out.

Two Emma Smith layups brought the game within three, and Cassie Mock aced two foul shots to cut the margin to one. However, on the next play Mock was whistled for her fifth foul and Ilgen nailed both of her foul shots to take the lead back to three.

Central still had a chance after Olivia Smith stole the ball from Karli Ripka, but Ripka trailed Smith to block the layup, shutting down Central’s remaining hope for a upset.

Emma Butler later scored on an open layup from an Ironside steal and assist during a 5-0 run to help seal the win, sweeping all three games from Central this season.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Central, and it’s really hard to beat a time three times, we both know each other inside and out.” McCaffrey said.

Though it may not have been pretty, Penns Valley weathered the storm and will continue on to the district semifinals.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Penns Valley girls’ basketball tops Central in district playoffs."