Final chapter: Lady Mikes’ magical season comes to an end
CARROLL TWP. – All good things must come to an end, and so it was for the Carmichaels Lady Mikes, who saw their magical season end with a 51-38 loss to Sewickley Academy in a WPIAL Class A quarterfinal game Saturday at Ringgold High School. The Lady Mikes fell out of the tournament one game short of qualifying for the PIAA tournament, but not even this loss can tarnish what they accomplished during this 21-3 season or, really, in the previous three, according to coach Jim Lane.
“These girls have accomplished so much over the past four years,” Lane said. “They set school records for wins each season, with 15, 15, 18 and 21. This was our school’s first section championship. I’m very proud of them and I’m going to miss them.”
But the Lady Mikes didn’t play their best game in their last game. Nine first-quarter turnovers put them in a 14-7 hole from which they never completely recovered. Five more miscues in each of the ensuing quarters added up to 24 total turnovers.
“Turnovers killed us,” Lane said. “Give Sewickley Academy credit. They played really tough defense the whole game against us.”
In doing so, the Lady Panthers put the Lady Mikes where they hadn’t been for very much of the season: behind. Carmichaels’ game plan centers on getting an early lead, then milking every possession for all it is worth until the clock runs out on the opposition.
As it turns out, that game plan worked perfectly for Sewickley Academy.
“I thought coming in that they were pretty similar to us,” Lane said. “They press more than we do, but other than that, we are very similar teams.”
Tammy Hoch, a 5-8 senior, paced Sewickley Academy (23-3) both offensively and defensively. She led all scorers with 23 points, added five rebounds and played most of the game in foul trouble. She drew three fouls early, but didn’t draw her fourth until the game was in hand.
“Hoch is a very good player,” Lane said. “We just couldn’t draw that fourth foul on her.”
“We come to expect that type of performance from all of our girls,” Sewickley Academy coach Ed Walters said. “Everybody contributes, all five or all 15.”
Walters said his team had tremendous respect for Carmichaels.
“This team is stingy,” Walters said of the Lady Mikes. “It took us a while to find the keys to allow us to open up the game. Defensively, we determined early on whom they wanted to go to. We gave them a look, then took it away.”
The strategy seemed to stymie the Lady Mikes. Their five senior starters combined for 30 points, with only Christina Antonelli reaching double figures with 10. She added a team-high seven rebounds.
The Lady Mikes’ only lead of the game was 4-2 and, like most basketball games, this one was a game of runs. The Lady Panthers went ahead, 12-4, but Carmichaels responded to cut the lead to 12-9. In the second quarter, Carmichaels cut a 20-11 SA lead to 20-18, but fell behind again at halftime, 25-20.
“Basketball is a game of momentum,” Lane said. “You’ve got to get stops and score with them. The third quarter is where Hoch stepped up for them.”
The turning point came early in the third quarter when the Lady Mikes closed to within a point, 25-24, only to give up the next eight points and fall behind, 33-24. Hoch scored the first seven points in that SA run and finished the third quarter with 11 of SA’s 13 points.
“We knew at halftime that we wanted to get into situations where we could avoid those turnovers,” Lane said. “But they put great defensive pressure on us the whole game. I was impressed with how they moved their feet defensively. They stay with their player very well, too.”
The loss marked the last game in a Carmichaels uniform for seniors Antonelli, Jessica McMinn, Meghan Wood and the Willis twins, Amber and Autumn.
“What a wonderful season we had,” Lane said. “It’s sad to see these five seniors go. They’ve done so much for this program and for me.”
Sewickley Academy moves on to meet Serra Catholic in the semifinals.