Penns Valley girls’ basketball falls in waning seconds of District 6 semifinal

Maci Ilgen put her head in her hands, and looked to her coach.

“I thought you said foul,” Ilgen said, a distraught look covering her face.

Coming out of a timeout in a tied game with 7.2 seconds left in regulation, Ilgen fouled Marion Center’s Hanna Beer, sending her to the line with the game in her hands.

She converted.

Beer hit one of two and Penns Valley girls’ basketball (18-5) couldn’t hit a game-winner in the final seconds, falling 34-33 to Marion Center (19-6) on Tuesday night in the District 6 Class AA semifinals.

Marion Center advances to the district finals, while Penns Valley must win on Thursday against Central Cambria for a spot in the PIAA Class AA tournament. Central Cambria fell 53-45 to Bishop McCort on Tuesday.

Penns Valley coach Karen McCaffrey was almost without words moments after the game, stunned by the ending.

“She must not have been listening to us because we were saying double No. 10, no fouls,” McCaffrey said. “I don’t know what she was thinking there to foul on purpose. I don’t think she knew what the score was.”

McCaffrey said she felt terrible for Ilgen, one of the team’s primary scorers and leaders on the floor.

“She’s been our MVP almost all season long. I know she’s just devastated right now,” the coach said. “I just feel for her so badly right now.”

Marion Center coach Julie Horner was just as perplexed as McCaffrey was.

But she’d take it.

“My thought was, alright,” Horner said with a smile. “I was surprised they fouled her, especially that close.”

Despite the mistake, Beer sinking even one free throw was no gimme. Prior to her taking her turn on the charity stripe, the Stingers were 16 of 30 (53 percent) from the foul line.

It was an uncharacteristic evening, Horner lamented.

“We are normally excellent free-throw shooters,” the coach said. “This was so unusual for us to miss as many free throws as we did.”

Even still, she trusted her senior captain.

“I had all the confidence in the world in Hanna to make those free throws,” Horner said. “One did it for us.”

One was all Marion Center needed. Ilgen tried to push the ball down the floor in the remaining few seconds, but a wild layup attempt was no good.

But without Ilgen, Penns Valley might not have been in such a close game. The 5-foot-8 center had 13 points, by far leading the team. The next highest scorer had seven points.

Plus, after Penns Valley held a lead or tie throughout the first three quarters and Marion Center snatched the advantage late in the fourth, it was Ilgen who tied things up again.

With the Lady Rams down two, the center was fouled going up for a layup, and sank both free-throw attempts, tying it at 33.

Now, though, Penns Valley has to play another game, and win, to reach the state tournament.

McCaffrey said she hopes the bad taste in her players’ mouths from Tuesday’s loss will give them motivation for Thursday.

“It’s been a long time since these girls have even been this far,” the coach noted. “We’ve had an outstanding year so far. Getting to states would just be gravy for us.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 8:01 PM with the headline "Penns Valley girls’ basketball falls in waning seconds of District 6 semifinal."