Laurel Highlands rallies from 19-point deficit to top Uniontown
Most players would be near panic mode if their team fell behind by 19 points in the first period. Laurel Highlands senior Deena Blanc felt no such desperation, however, when she looked up at the scoreboard and saw a 21-2 deficit to Uniontown in their Section 2-AAAA girls basketball battle on Friday night.
Blanc poured in 26 of her game-high 39 points in the second half as the visiting Fillies charged back for a 69-65 victory at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium.
“It didn’t even bother me at all,” said Blanc of watching her team fall into a deep early hole. “I knew if we played our type of basketball, we’d come back.”
Blanc also totaled seven rebounds, five steals and two assists.
“Deena is our catalyst and the sparkplug for anything we do on the basketball court,” LH coach Rick Hauger said. “She’s such a creator. She has the athletic ability to make plays others can’t.”
A victory would’ve pulled the Lady Raiders (8-5, 2-3) into a third-place tie with Laurel Highlands (9-3, 4-1).
“I thought overall we played a pretty good game,” Uniontown coach Annie Malkowiak said. “If a couple calls here or there would’ve went our way, we could’ve easily won. But the difference in the second half was they out-rebounded us.”
Fresh off a 2-1 showing in the KSA Disney Classic in Orlando, Fla., the Lady Raiders dominated play early on. After the Fillies’ Hallie Cupp scored the game’s first basket, Uniontown reeled off the next 21 points, including 11 by Jocelyn Chandler.
Blanc scored the final seven points of the period to make it 21-9, and LH whittled the gap to 10 twice in the second period on a three-point play by Blanc and on a 3-pointer by Lauren Mahoney.
Chandler, who scored 20 of her team-high 30 points in the first half, then took over for the Lady Raiders, accounting for all the points in a nine-point burst that again pushed the margin up to 19 at 40-21. Cupp’s basket on a pass from Blanc made it 40-23 at halftime.
Fillies coach Rick Hauger made a few adjustments during the break in his team’s press, and the defense worked wonders in helping turn the tide in the second half.
“We changed it up a little bit at halftime,” Hauger said. “We figured it couldn’t hurt to try something different. We got a couple quick baskets off of it right away and that boosted our confidence.”
Mahoney and Blanc scored quick hoops to open the third period. A little later Blanc hit a 3-pointer and then banked in a shot off a steal to slice the lead to 10. After Chandler scored on a pass from Sara Kovach, Blanc hit another trey to start an eight-point closing run that made it 49-45 after three periods.
Even Malkowiak had to marvel at LH’s persistence.
“Laurel Highlands kept their composure when they were down,” Malkowiak said. “That’s a trademark of their team. They always play together very well. They very easily could’ve folded when they got down, but the didn’t.”
Chandler hit a pair of free throws to start the fourth period, but drew her fourth foul on a drive to the basket by Blanc, who hit both shots. The Fillies finally pulled even halfway through the period. With the score 54-52, Blanc missed a foul shot, but Diane Gmiter grabbed the rebound and Cupp hit a jumper to tie it.
Chandler made two free throws to put Uniontown back on top, but Mahoney scored on a baseline drive to tie it again. Moments later, Gmiter rebounded a Chandler miss and Blanc dropped in a layup at the other end to put LH in front.
The Lady Raiders pulled even on Courtney Sanner’s two free throws, but Cupp hit a jumper with 2:10 left to put the Fillies in front to stay.
After another layup by Blanc gave Laurel Highlands a 62-58 lead before Chandler drew her fifth foul on a charging call when she collided with Gmiter.
“Diane stepped up and made a big play there,” Hauger said. “She always battles and gives everything she has. She’s basically our only interior player. In crucial situations, she always makes a big play for your.”
“I knew when Diane took that charge that we were in good shape,” Blanc said. “Jocelyn is one of the top players in the WPIAL and the key to their team.”
Uniontown fell behind 67-60 after two Abby Martin foul shots before mounting one last charge. A 3-pointer by Emily Fisher and two free throws by Kovach made it 67-65 with 7.5 seconds left. Fittingly, it was Blanc who sealed the win by nailing two free throws with 6.2 seconds left.
“Deena has been a quality player for them for four years,” Malkowiak said. “Obviously that was a big charging call on Jocelyn and a huge momentum swing. But I give my girls credit, because they were down seven with their big gun on the bench and they never quit.”
The Fillies have rallied from big deficits in the past under Hauger, but the LH coach put Friday night’s win at the top of the list.
“I would have to rate it in that regard,” Hauger said. “Uniontown is a quality team, and to come back from that kind of a margin shows a lot of character and determination by these girls.”
Mahoney followed Blanc in the Fillies’ scoring column with 12 points. Each hit a pair of 3-pointers. Cupp had nine points and Gmiter collected eight rebounds.
Fisher hit three treys in scoring 11 points for Uniontown and Jill Monahan tallied eight. Kovach played a fine all-around game in contributing six points, a game-high 10 rebounds and three assists. Sanner chipped in with six points and five boards.
Both teams continue section play on Monday. Laurel Highlands travels to Canon-McMillan while Uniontown is at Peters Township.