Section showdown
Serra Catholic edges Geibel Catholic in battle for first place
CONNELLSVILLE — Geibel Catholic hasn’t faced many halftime deficits this season, as the Lady Gators entered Thursday’s Section 2-1A game against Serra Catholic undefeated.
Geibel Catholic trailed 28-19 after the first half, but the Lady Gators rallied to tie the game at 34-34 at the end of three quarters, and had a four-point lead with 2:23 remaining, but the Lady Eagles went on a 7-2 run to earn a 51-50 victory at “The Swamp” on the campus of Geibel Catholic Junior/Senior High School.
Serra Catholic improved to 12-1 in section play and 14-5 overall. Geibel dropped to 12-1 in the section and 19-1 overall.
Both teams have already qualified for the WPIAL playoffs in Class 1A, but they can clinch a share of the section championship if they win their final section games, as the Lady Gators are at Avella (1-12, 4-17) on Saturday at 7 p.m., and the Lady Eagles hosted Monessen (5-8, 7-12) on Friday.
“No one wants to lose, but this teaches us a lot,” Geibel coach Sara Larkin said. “That’s a good team and we had some mistakes, especially in that first half, so I think, at this point of the season and going into the playoffs, I’m OK.”
Geibel outscored Serra, 15-6, in the third quarter, and had its first lead since a 5-4 advantage with 5:08 left in the first period when Emma Larkin made one of her four 3-pointers for a 43-42 edge with 4:01 remaining in the fourth period. Teammate Mallory Clemmer’s putback put the home team ahead, 45-42, before the Lady Eagles’ Bella Dumbroski cut the deficit to one.
Alexa Morgan connected on her third of three 3-pointers for a 48-44 lead, but Dumbroski came back with a three-pointer to pull the visitors back within one. Dumbroski, a sophomore, scored a team-high 20 points on nine field goals, including one 3-pointer, and was 1 of 1 at the foul line. She had three fouls at halftime, but didn’t allow herself to get out of her game while staying out of further foul trouble.
“Bella (Dumbroski) is 15 going on 30,” said Serra coach Mike Voit in reference to Dumbroski’s staying composed despite being in foul trouble at the half. “She has a really high IQ, been coached really well her whole life, and I trust her to make the right decisions.”
Clemmer made both shots at the foul line for a 50-47 advantage, but Dumbroski scored again for a one-point lead for the home team.
The Lady Gators weren’t able to score their next trip down the court, and Serra senior Abby Genes connected on a jump shot with nine seconds remaining for a 51-50 lead.
Geibel took a timeout with 4.7 seconds left to set up a play for the winning basket, but Larkin’s shot didn’t fall and Clemmer’s attempt at a putback wasn’t able to go through the hoop as the buzzer sounded.
“We didn’t expect to get two chances with the last possession,” Sara Larkin said. “We thought it was going to be one-and-done when we set up the play. Em’s was a little bit of a fade away, and there was a little bit of contact, but they are not going to call that at that point of the game, and the same thing with Mal on the putback. She was expecting more contact and it kind of altered her shot. We had two good looks, but sometimes they don’t fall.”
Voit expected Larkin to take the last shot, but he thought the Lady Gators would have set up a different play.
“We really didn’t do anything when it came to our defense on the last possession,” Voit said. “It became a pride factor, and we wanted to play them straight up.”
Geibel defeated the Lady Eagles, 64-55, on Jan. 12 at Serra Catholic High School.
Larkin had a game-high 21 points on seven field goals, including four 3-pointers, and was 3 of 5 at the foul line. Clemmer had 18 points on four field goals, including one 3-pointer, and was 9 for 12 at the line. Clemmer had a double-double with 18 rebounds. Teammate Janiah Darnell pulled down 11 rebounds.
Lexi Pearce put in 11 points for Serra.
The Lady Eagles had a 17-11 lead after the first quarter, and outscored the Lady Gators, 11-8, in the second.
“I’m proud of the way my girls played and fought back,” Sara Larkin said. “You never know, but we may see them (Serra Catholic) again in the playoffs.”