Down to the Wire, Lady Wildcats Edged by Selinsgrove, 49-48

AdminFebruary 2, 2019Last Updated: February 2, 2019

2 minutes read

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – It came down to the wire for the Lady Wildcats Friday night as they hosted Selinsgrove with the opportunity to knot the score with 5.7 seconds on the clock with the Lady Seals hanging on to a slim 49-46 lead. After three timeouts, 2 by CM 1 by Selinsgrove, the Lady ‘Cats put the ball in play and a 3-point shot was put and missed, though Quinlynn McCann snared the rebound and did the only thing she could with time expiring … put the ball up and in for 2 to set the final tally at 49-48.

It was a tough, hard-fought effort by both teams but it was especially disappointing for Central Mountain as they are eagerly seeking their first win of the season.

“There were tears in the room tonight after the game,” said CM head coach Scott Baker, “I told them those tears were allowed tonight. When you put forth that kind of effort, and you come up short, you are allowed to be upset. When you don’t put forth that effort and get outplayed, you don’t deserve to be upset. Tonight they gave their all”

“You have to be in those games, before you can learn to win those games,” Baker explained, “I was hoping and praying we could make a play here and there down the stretch, somebody knock down another 3 to get us off that one possession bump. We couldn’t get that. But at the same time, we executed a couple of plays near the end that we hadn’t practiced before and that’s growth.”

“We asked them going out tonight to make sure they were the team that played the hardest,” Baker said of the learning process for his young team, “When you play hard, you will give yourself a chance to beat teams. I think they learned that lesson tonight.”

Selinsgrove had a slight edge early leading Cm 10-7 after one quarter of play. Then the Lady ‘Cats started to find their range and put up a 15-11 effort in the second quarter to hold a 22-21 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, the Lady Seals edged Central Mountain, 16-14 for a slim 37-36 lead heading into the final 8 minutes.

In the fourth quarter it was more of the same with both teams trading the lead then Selinsgrove knotted the score at 46-all with 1:24 remaining. Both teams came up empty on the next two possessions, then with less than 6 seconds on the clock, Selinsgrove drained a shot from outside the arc to take the final lead.

Avery Baker led the Lady Wildcats with 14 points, 12 from downtown. Mia Kopysciansky was next with 13, including 3 3-pointers. McCann had 11 points on the night and was 4 of 4 from the penalty stripe. Alyssa Fisher score 5 points while Reese Doyle and Summer Flanagan had 2 points each. Morgan Wetzel had a free throw to her credit.

The loss takes Central Mountain to 0-17 on the season, 0-9 in the PHAC.

The Lady Wildcats will next see action for their last home game of the season on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 when they will host Jersey Shore for Senior Night.