Lady Mikes keep playoff hopes alive with win over J-M
CARMICHAELS — The Carmichaels girls basketball team kept its playoff hopes alive for another day with a thrilling 45-41 victory over rival Jefferson-Morgan Tuesday night.
With the win, the Lady Mikes’ up-and-down season has come down to one game on Friday versus Mapletown. If Carmichaels (3-6, 5-14) wins that contest, the Lady Mikes will clinch their 10th consecutive trip to the postseason.
“If we win against Mapletown, we are in the playoffs,” Carmichaels coach Jim Lane said. “It’s that simple for us and we control our own destiny. We knew it was going to be tough and intense tonight and we had to play like there was no tomorrow. I’m really proud of our girls and their resiliency. We take a lot of pride in our program.”
The Lady Rockets (9-10, 3-6) remain alive for a playoff berth and if they beat West Greene on Thursday, they will also qualify for the WPIAL’s second season.
“This is a big week for us,” J-M coach Ellen Hildebrand said. “We have to be able to let this game go and refocus for West Greene. It’s a challenge for a young team to do that, but we can’t afford to be down mentally on Thursday. The playoffs start for us now.”
If both teams would lose their section finale, then both would have identical section records and both would make the playoffs.
Caroline Cree (13 points/5 assists) and Amanda Brown (13 points/10 rebounds) aided in the Lady Mikes’ victory, while Katie Reagan chipped in with 11 points.
“Katie was huge for us tonight,” Lane said. “She has been in the starting line-up for us the last couple of weeks and her confidence is growing. She hit some big shots for us in the third quarter. We needed her scoring tonight.”
For the Lady Rockets, Erin Confortini finished with a team-high 12 points, followed by Ally Bogden (10 points) and Kayla Yorko (eight points).
After Bogden gave J-M an early 2-0 after a mid-range jumper, Carmichaels rallied back with 13 of the next 15 points in the first quarter to take a 13-4 lead at the end of one quarter.
Both squads struggled in the second period, each scoring three points apiece, but the offenses found their rhythm in the second half with a combined 63 points scored.
The Lady Mikes began the third on a 9-4 run, courtesy of two treys by Reagan, a basket from Molly Roberts and a free throw by Cree, but the visitors countered with a 13-5 spurt, capped off by two jumpers by Anna Mattish and a 3-pointer by Confortini.
Yorko quickly scored four points to start the fourth off of a free throw and a shot from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 30-28, but Carmichaels responded with a 9-2 run to get separation.
Every time the Lady Rockets trimmed the lead down to a single possession, the home team rallied back with points from the free throw line, as they hit 5-of-6 shots in the final 25 seconds to secure the Section 3-A victory.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well in the first half and we had to dig ourselves out of a hole,” Hildebrand said. “We trapped some in the second half and we changed the tempo. Our shots started to fall and our scorers regained their scoring touch. As a young team, we have to be able to battle through the intensity of key situations late.”