Lady Colonials edge Fillies in thriller
YORK RUN – The game meant little in the Section 2-AAAA final standings, but Albert Gallatin’s hard-fought 59-57 girls basketball victory over visiting Laurel Highlands had enough other reasons to be as intense as it was. First, the two schools have proud programs and are nearby rivals.
Second, there was WPIAL playoff seedings to consider.
And third, was Lady Colonial coach Shea Fleenor’s hair, which will soon change colors for the postseason.
“I told the girls at the beginning of the season that if they went undefeated in the section, I’d dye my hair, so I’m going to have a new look for the playoffs,” said Fleenor with a smile. “I’ll probably be a platinum bomb, like Eminem.”
“I don’t know what’s better – running the table in the section or getting coach to dye his hair,” said a laughing Loui Hall, who had another outstanding game for AG with 29 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs.
Laurel Highlands (15-8, 10-4) did all it could to make the closing seconds a hair-raising experience, however, even after star guard Deena Blanc fouled out late in the third period.
Albert Gallatin (20-3, 14-0) seemed to have the game in hand when Samantha Kline hit a jumper with 3:09 left for a 55-45 Lady Colonial lead. After buckets by Abby Martin and Diane Gmiter, Kline made two free throws with 1:45 left to make it 57-49.
The Fillies closed within four on two foul shots by Hallie Cupp, then Lauren Mahoney made a huge play by coming up with a steal at one end and hitting a jumper at the other to pull the visitors within four.
Rachel Karpency fed Ashley Davis for a basket with 25.5 seconds remaining to put AG up 59-53, but Laurel Highlands refused to give up.
Mahoney made one of two free throws with 13.8 seconds left, and Laurel Highlands tracked down the rebound from the miss to set up a 3-pointer by Kayla Ashton with 2.2 seconds remaining.
The Lady Colonials threw the ball out of bounds on the inbounds pass, giving Laurel Highlands one last chance to tie. Ashton got the ball to Cupp in close, but Davis blocked the shot. Gmiter quickly gathered in the ball, but her hurried shot at the buzzer wouldn’t fall as time ran out.
“That was a great defensive play by Ashley,” Fleenor said. “It was close (to being a foul), and probably could’ve gone either way. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.”
“We were running some cross screens and Kayla did a nice job of finding the open player,” LH coach Rick Hauger said. “I felt there was contact.
“But I commend Albert Gallatin and congratulate their team on winning the section. Shea’s done a good job with them.”
Mahoney led the Fillies with 19 points and also had three steals and two assists. Blanc finished with 11 points, three steals, two assists and two rebounds, and Cupp wound up with 10 points and four boards. Martin contributed eight points, three assists and a steal, and Gmiter chipped in with six points and six rebounds.
Kline followed Hall in AG’s scoring column with 10 points. Davis totaled eight points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and the one blocked shot. Despite scoring only two points, Karpency played a fine all-around game with five boards, four assists and a steal before fouling out with 13.8 seconds left, and Shane Guerriere tallied six points with a pair of 3-pointers before fouling out early in the third period. Heather Patterson gave Fleenor a strong effort off the bench with two points, two assists and a steal.
“This was Sam Kline’s second straight strong game against a playoff team, and I thought our bench did some good things,” Fleenor said. “Patterson did a great job.”
The Lady Colonials jumped out to a 15-5 lead early on before the Fillies closed the first period with a 13-2 run to take an 18-17 advantage.
A wild second period featured nine lead changes and one tie. Albert Gallatin finally took the lead for good when Hall scored inside to make it 30-29, and the Lady Colonials led 35-30 at the half.
Laurel Highlands trailed 46-42 after three and then watched the deficit reach 10 before putting together its late rally.
“It was the type of game you would expect … very competitive,” Hauger said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team, especially the way they played with Deena out all of the fourth quarter.”
Hauger felt the game was a perfect postseason tune-up.
“This is the kind of atmosphere you find in the playoffs,” Hauger said. “This is a nice facility, and they have a nice crowd with a student section that backs its team real well.”
Fleenor was just pleased to rack up another victory.
“I’m happy with this win,” Fleenor said. “Any time you can win a game against a quality team like Laurel Highlands, it has to be considered a good win.”