BY CORY ISENBERG
LEWISTOWN — It may have been St. Patrick’s Day, but the green-clad Nativity BVM squad had no luck of the Irish on Wednesday night against Northern Cambria.
Janae Dunchack hit a free throw with less than a second remaining as the Colts eked out a 53-52 victory over the defending Class A runners-up in the second round of the PIAA playoffs at Lewistown High School.
Northern Cambria (22-5) will face Old Forge, a 40-35 winner over Greenwood, Saturday in an Elite 8 matchup at a site and time to be determined.
“I don’t know what to say,” said Northern Cambria coach Eric Thomas after his team survived. “Intense is a good word for it.”
The victory for the Colts was even more remarkable, since Northern Cambria’s leading scorer, senior Breanna Kochinsky, spent much of the second quarter and parts of the third and fourth on the bench. Kochinsky picked up her third foul at the 2:29 mark of the first quarter.
“The fact that we pulled this out with Bre on the bench as much as she was, shows a lot about the other girls,” Thomas said. “Our bench, a lot of other girls stepped up and filled big shoes, and I’m very impressed with that. Defensively, we were outsized underneath and I thought we did a great job boxing out.”
There were two lead changes to open the fourth quarter, which started with a two-point lead for the Colts. Neither team led by more than three points throughout the tight final frame.
With the Colts up by three with less than a minute remaining, Nikki Farr fired up a desperation 3-pointer for the Golden Girls to even the game at 52.
With time winding down and the Colts holding onto the ball, Dunchack, a senior, drove to the basket and was fouled with .8 seconds left.
Dunchack hit the first free throw, then was told to miss the second one, which almost went in.
“I was ready to miss it, because sometimes missing is easier than making it,” said Dunchack. “We got a lot of help from the rest of our players. We remembered what it was like to lose here at Lewistown, and to come this far, we really didn’t want to do that again.”
Nativity grabbed the final rebound but time expired.
“We knew we all had to play hard, especially with Breanna getting those three fouls early,” senior Jess Rocco said. “We knew we had to play better than we have all season.”
The Golden Girls rolled out to a 5-0 lead on a pair free throws and a 3-pointer by Farr. The Colts trailed 16-9 after the first quarter.
While Kochinsky was on the bench, the rest of the Colts stepped up in a big way. Senior Ariel Rocco scored 10 of her team-high
15 points in the second quarter while Kelley Sedlock came off the bench to provide six of her eight.
“It was frustrating being on the bench so much,” Kochinsky said. “But I have to give a lot of credit to my team because they practically played that whole game without me. Some of the younger girls really stepped up and took my place. I’m really not used to being on the bench, but I just tried to stay positive.”
Northern Cambria outscored the Golden Girls 15-8 in the second quarter with Sedlock putting the Colts ahead for the first time with 1:30 left before the half. The Colts held a 30-27 lead at the break.
The third quarter featured three ties and four lead changes, with Northern Cambria holding a slim 42-40 lead heading into the fourth.
Dunchack added 14 points for the Colts while Kochinsky had 11. Ariel Rocco also provided
12 rebounds despite being at a height disadvantage against the Golden Girls.
Farr led all scorers with
17 points for the Golden Girls (21-5) while Kiely Chaklos had 16 and Courtney Field finished with 15.
“I don’t know how you could ask for two teams to play any harder than these two played,” Nativity coach George Forney said. “You’re talking about two outstanding programs that went toe-toe with one another, and neither team backed down.”
