Berkeley women defeat Penn State Fayette in OT
Penn State Fayette's Jill Guthrie (12) looks for an opening to shoot the ball while being covered by Berkeley's Rahinet Koti (31) during Thursday's loss to Berkeley in the USCAA Tournament.
Penn State Fayette's Jennifer Thomas (24) shoots over Kysharece Young (11) during Thursday's loss to Berkeley in the USCAA Tournament.
Berkeley's Janay Thomas (1) blocks the shot of Penn State Fayette's Kasey Ruble (11) during the USCAA Tournament Thursday. Thomas was called for a foul.
John F. Brothers/HeraldStandard.com
Penn State Fayette’s Caitlin Wontroba (23) drives past Berkeley’s Taisha Sherman (25) and scores two for the Lady Roaring Lions Thursday at the USCAA Tournament.
The women’s basketball team wanted nothing more than to end a memorable season with a memorable win. So much so that Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus overcame an 11-point deficit in the last 4:30 of regulation to force overtime.
But Berkeley College had other plans and outscored the local five 16-9 in the extra session for a 94-87 win in a consolation game at the USCAA National Championship Tournament Thursday in the Maltho Gym.
“We never quit,” coach Kurt Mattern said. When asked about his team’s 71-60 deficit with 4:30 left, Mattern said, “We’ve been there all year. We may not have the depth we need yet, but we have huge hearts.”
Not for a lack of energy or output, the Lady Roaring Lions ended their finest season with a 15-12 record and the school’s first PSUAC championship on the way to this tournament. Berkeley finished its season at 15-12.
Mattern said the loss was a tough one, but he refused to let it keep his players down.
“We keep reminding them of what they accomplished this year,” he said. “They put the first banner in the gym and every time they walk into that building, they will see it and know they helped put it up there.”
Fayette got 27 points and 13 rebounds from All-American Jill Guthrie, 21 points from Caitlin Wontroba, 18 from Kaitlyn Novak and 14 from Casey Ruble. Berkeley was led by Janay Collins, who led all scorers with 32 points and had 15 rebounds.
In the first half, which ended in a 34-34 tie, Fayette forced 16 turnovers, thanks to a full court man-to-man press. In the second half, Berkeley was able to break the press and score on easy lay-ups.
“I think the press wore us out as much as it wore them out,” Mattern said. “Kasey, Jill and Caitlin were the key players in that press and they all ended up in foul trouble.
“But I think overall, going back to our game Wednesday and our conference tournament, we just ran out of gas. We just didn’t have enough left in the tank. We expended a lot of energy to win our conference and that was our main goal this season.”