When the dust finally settled, after regulation play and a pair of nail-biter overtime sessions, the Indians — once down by 17 points in the third quarter — notched a comeback win they hope will kick-start their season from here on out.
Mia Wissler poured in a career-high 22 points, and she coaxed in the go-ahead free throws with 51.2 seconds to go in the second OT, and Donegal rallied past CV 54-50 in Mount Joy. The Indians picked up their first win after a 0-2 start in Elizabethtown’s tip-off tournament. The Buckskins, who led 36-19 early in the third quarter, dipped to 0-3 after failing to slam the door.
“Awesome,” Wissler said. “I’ve been dreaming for a game like this. We worked so hard for this one. We can all trust each other no matter what. We always have each other’s backs.”
It was just what the doctor ordered for Donegal, which was 2-20 last season, but has the weapons — and now some momentum — to make the opposition sweat in the upcoming Section Three race.
“They’re not going to quit,” Donegal coach Matthew Warner said about his squad. “We talked to them at halftime about coming out and just playing loose. Don’t worry about mistakes; just come out and play free. If we rebounded and didn’t turn the ball over, we knew we had a shot. We’ve been struggling to score here early this season, but I knew that if we could get some run-outs and some rebounds, we’d be all right.”
CV had a pair of shots at buzzer-beater wins Monday; in regulation, the Bucks forced a late steal, but Rhiannon Henry’s runner in the lane at the horn spun out, and regulation ended at 43-43. And at the end of the first OT, CV’s Gabrielle Moore got a clean look at corner 3-pointer, but her shot didn’t fall and the team’s shuffled off to OT-2 knotted at 48-48.
Moore and Erin Figart scored 11 points apiece for the Bucks.
Donegal took just its second lead of the game, 50-48, when Kara Heidlauf (12 points, 9 rebounds) drained two free throws with 3:48 to go in the second OT. CV tied it up with Henry split the middle for a runner in the key with 43.7 seconds to go.
That set up Wissler’s go-ahead foul shots on Donegal’s ensuing possession. In the first OT, she buried a pair of free throws to tie it up at 48-48 with 48 seconds to go.
“I was so focused,” Wissler said. “I just had to breathe.”
Remy White chipped in with 10 points for Donegal, which survived 24 turnovers.
CV had a great first half. Moore drilled a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers to help stake the Bucks to a 21-14 lead, and Isabella Johnson had two breakaway layups off steals in the final minute of the half, giving CV a seemingly safe 34-19 lead at the break.
Ashley Cirilo's bucket put CV up 36-19 early in the third. That’s when Donegal jumped into a 3-2 press, which drove the Bucks batty. CV turned the ball over 14 times in the second half and 29 times in all. And the Bucks suddenly went cold from the floor; they were outscored 9-2 in the fourth, and didn’t score a point over the final 5:26 in the final quarter.
“We lost our composure and our inexperience showed,” CV coach Bill Moore said. “We have t... Click here to read full article
ARTICLE SOURCE:
