Lady Gators advance to WPIAL Class A semifinals
CONNELLSVILLE — As Emma Larkin goes, so does Geibel Catholic.
But on Thursday night at “The Swamp” on the campus of Geibel Catholic Junior/Senior High School, the junior guard was feeling under the weather, but freshman Mallory Clemmer and junior Ava Henderson picked up the slack and overcame a game-high 31 points from Kendra Tharp in defeating West Greene, 60-48, in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class A girls basketball playoffs.
Larkin still managed to lead her team in scoring with 20 points on five field goals (2 three-pointers) and was 8 of 13 at the foul line.
Clemmer put in 16 and Henderson 13.
The Lady Gators (22-1) advanced to Monday’s semifinals against Clairton (17-4) at a site and time to be determined. The winner will play in the final on Feb. 28 at the Petersen Events Center on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. By advancing to the district semifinals, Geibel has clinched a spot in the state playoffs.
“Emma has been sick, but we had other players step up,” Geibel coach Sara Larkin said. “We struggled a little bit because Emma didn’t have her normal energy. Mallory is calm and cool. That’s just her personality. I’m never worried about her being nervous. She is an experienced player despite being a freshman.
“We are glad to finally get that monkey off our back and win a playoff game, but we are not done yet. We are ready to keep moving, and we are looking forward to Monday. We will be ready to go.”
The Lady Pioneers (16-8) will compete in the consolation round of the WPIAL playoffs on Monday.
“For us to be down double digits a few minutes into the third quarter and to claw back is a testament to the type of kids we have,” West Greene coach Ben Brudnock said. “We don’t necessarily have dedicated basketball players, we have hard-nosed athletes, and they are used to pressure situations. They have been in the playoffs in two sports.
“We wanted to give them a game, and I think we did give them a game. If we would have shot free throws a little better, we would be moving on, but it is what it is. Now, we just have to get ready for the next game, and hopefully, we can win that one and get into the state playoffs.”
The Lady Gators won both games over their Section 2 rival in the regular season by 19 points in each contest, but West Greene wasn’t fazed by those two setbacks, and used a 9-0 run in the first quarter for a 9-4 lead after Clemmer made the first two field goals.
“I was nervous at first, but once the jump ball went up, I was fine,” Clemmer said. “It was a great feeling to play at home.”
Geibel battled back and tied the game at 13-13 on back-to-back layups from Emma Larkin before the Lady Pioneers took a 15-14 lead heading into the second period.
“It was draining because I do have the flu, but I play a big role on this team,” Larkin said. “I am an upperclassmen, as we only have one senior, so I have been through this (the playoffs) and trying to keep Mallory calm because she’s a freshman, and I know how it feels being a freshman and coming into a playoff game.”
Tharp scored her 31 points on 11 field goals, including four 3-pointers, and was 5 of 17 at the foul line. She felt the first two games against the Lady Gators helped prepare her and her teammates for Thursday.
“Playing them twice already helped us know who their top players were and who we could attack,” Tharp said. “We normally get a lot of support from the community, especially in big games, so it was nice to see all the fans out there cheering us on.”
Geibel had an 18-4 scoring advantage in the second period for a 32-19 halftime lead. Both teams scored 13 points in the third period before the Lady Pioneers edged the Lady Gators, 16-15, in the fourth period.
West Greene cut the deficit to 46-41 after putbacks from Tharp and Madelyn Roberts, and Tharp added another basket after the Lady Pioneers corralled an offensive rebound for a 47-43 lead for Geibel before Larkin nailed a three-pointer for a 50-43 advantage.
West Greene cut the deficit to 50-47 on another putback from Tharp before Clemmer, who is normally a presence in the post, nailed a three-pointer for a 53-47 lead.
“When we needed some points, she (Clemmer) hit that three,” Larkin said. “And how many bigs do you see shooting threes? You can not leave Mallory out there.”
The Lady Gators were able to close the game out at the foul line.
“Geibel has something that just about every team in the classification doesn’t: They have a next-level player at the point (Larkin), a next-level player at the post (Clemmer) and role players who know their jobs,” Brudnock said. “We did everything we could, but in the end, they have a stud player who did what she needed to do in the clutch.”