Game-winner refuses to fall, twice, for Rams
Tri-State Sports & News Service
Rochester was in an uphill battle all night against perennial powerhouse Bishop Guilfoyle in a Class 1A semifinal.
Yet here they were after trailing by 13 coming into the fourth quarter, in a onepossession game with less than 30 seconds remaining and two of the best outside shooters in the WPIAL hanging out beyond the arc.
And, make no mistake, the Rams had looks. Two of them.
But like every other opportunity they had to knot it up against the Marauders, it clanked off the rim and fell harmlessly away.
Corynne Hauser got two tries from beyond the arc in the waning seconds, but caught iron on both and the Rams (16-4) dropped a 55-50 heartbreaker to the District 6 champions. Bishop Guilfoyle (16-4) was able to close it out at the line.
“The last shot designed there was to set Corynne up coming off the high- ball screen for the game-winning 3,” Rochester coach C.J. Iannini said. “If she comes off clean, it’s her call, pull the trigger, That’s who we want, pull it.”
Down 53-50 with less than 15 seconds remaining Hauser, who finished with 16, worked her way open for the first shot and clanked it short off the front of the rim. After a mad scramble, Alexis Robison pulled down the rebound and Rochester called time out to set up the second attempt.
After the time out, Rochester wasted no time and got it back into Hauser’s hands. This time, there would be no rebounds and the shot careened out of bounds and gave Bishop Guilfoyle possession with 6.7 seconds left.
Teresa Haigh, who missed both ends of a twoshot foul with 37.5 seconds left that would have all but put the game out reach, did not miss this time as she drained both to close it out.
“I just thought that I had to find any way to help my team and find any way to finish the game,” Haigh said. “When I got the opportunity to come back to the line, I wasn’t going to miss those shots again. Never again.”
Those free throws were about the only shots she missed all night.
Haigh almost singlehandedly dispatched Rochester from the playoffs with her play in the first half. The 5-11 senior moved outside and scored 24 of her game-high 28 points in the first two quarters — including six 3pointers — which helped Bishop Guilfoyle build a 10point first quarter lead and have a 34-29 edge at the intermission.
“The first half is on me right, because we went man -to-man, it wasn’t effective and the girl drains six 3s in the first half,” Iannini said. “We made some adjustments at halftime but anytime you’re in a semifinal matchup, it’s the easy things you’ve got to do best, make your layups, make your foul shots and we missed some of those bunnies that we missed earlier that, in the end, could have put us over.”
Rochester never led and the game was never tied, but the missed opportunities to do so were a recurring narrative throughout the night.
Trailing 2-0 just 26 seconds into the game, Alysha Martin had a two-shot foul, but missed the second that would have tied it. Robison went on a tear, scoring 17 of her 24 in the first half to counter Haigh, and got Rochester back to within two, 31-29, with 1:07 left in the second quarter.
Haigh extended the lead with the last of her six 3pointers when she drained a bomb from the left corner to put Bishop Guilfoyle up by five at the halfway point.