HOLLIDAYSBURG —
Even after his team had built a 17-point first-quarter lead while holding the opposition to only one field goal, Greater Johnstown girls basketball coach Chuck DiFalco still wasn’t comfortable.
“I yelled at my girls when they came in after the first period up 19-2,” DiFalco said after his Trojans fell 45-39 to Tyrone in a District 6 Class AAA playoff game at Hollidaysburg Senior High on Wednesday.
“I told them, ‘Wipe those smiles off your faces. There’s a lot of game going. We’ve got to stay focused, take care of the ball and continue to do what we’re doing, get steals, run the floor and score.’ ”
Fourth-seeded Tyrone overcame a 19-2 first-quarter deficit and bounced back yet a second time after fifth-seeded Johnstown re-established a 12-point advantage midway through the third quarter.
“We’ve been off for almost 12 days as far as games,” Tyrone coach Lucas Rhoades said. “You can’t match their speed at practice. They were so fast early. Their defensive pressure – they were everywhere. They really disrupted our entire flow. The speed of the game was too fast early. Once we adjusted to the speed we did OK.”
Johnstown played perhaps its best quarter of the season in the opening frame.
Tynesha Smith had 12 first-quarter points as well as three steals and three rebounds. As a team Johnstown forced five steals in the first eight minutes.
But Tyrone outscored Johnstown 17-4 to pull within 23-19 at halftime.
Once again, Johnstown opened the second half on a tear, scoring the first eight points to lead 31-19.
Alayna Hettinger scored Tyrone’s first points of the third quarter with 3:03 left to pull the Eagles within 31-21.
Tyrone then outscored Johnstown 8-3, including Jordan Swogger’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer that set a 34-29 Johnstown lead through three.
“I wanted to come out and really try to take control of the game again but Tyrone played us pretty even in that third quarter,” DiFalco said. “I think their depth helped them too.”
Tyrone scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to lead 35-34 on Olivia Stever’s basket with 5:16 to play.
Stever’s biggest contribution was her smothering defensive play on Smith, who finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals but was held without a point in the fourth quarter.
“Olivia really struggled early,” Rhoades said. “The second half, I told her she had to be mentally tough. She did an excellent job on Tynesha. Tynesha is a heck of a player and I thought Olivia really did a great job of guarding her and almost eliminated her from scoring after her initial surge.”
Brandi Young put Johnstown back on top 36-35, but Tyrone added a 3-pointer by Nicole Gripp and an Alexis Brooks basket for another four point lead.
Johnstown closed within a point, but the Eagles’ Gripp hit another trey to put it out of reach.
Swogger (12), Gripp (11) and Stever (10) all scored in double digits for 12-10 Tyrone, which will face top-seeded Hollidaysburg in the 6-AAA semifinals.
Johnstown finished 10-12. The 10 victories were more than the Trojans had accumulated in the past to years combined.
“It’s great but I told them before we came in that we’re not going to be satisified with just getting here,” DiFalco said. “Ten wins this year is a good way to take a step for our program.”
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Related Photos
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Johnstown’s Chartice Wyatt scores on a layup past Tyrone’s Emily Brokenshire during Wednesday’s playoff game in Hollidaysburg. Dave Lloyd
Discussion
Tyrone defeats Johnstown girls in 6-AAA game
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