Oakland Catholic rally stuns McKeesport in OT
Oakland Catholic coach Eddie Benton has a rather succinct view when it comes to taking the floor against McKeesport.
“I don’t like to play McKeesport,” Benton said. “... They are so physical and they take you out of the things you want to do. They’re big and they’re hard to play against.”
That couldn’t have been more apparent than in the first quarter when the Eagles missed their first 14 shots and turned the ball over five times as the Tigers built a 14-point lead.
Yet all was not lost. They were able to draw on a lesson learned in having met McKeesport three other times this season: They know how to beat the Tigers.
Senior guard Alexa Washington scored 17 of her gamehigh 21 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and London Creach made the second free throw of a two-shot foul with 3.7 seconds left to give Oakland Catholic (25-4) an improbable 60-59 victory against McKeesport (23-6) in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal at Peters Township.
“I knew that they had ended my season the past two years,” Washington said. “I couldn’t let it happen a third time.”
McKeesport did everything right in the first quarter as it built a 16-2 lead. The Tigers pressure defense had Oakland Catholic on its heels and, whenthe Eagles turned up the heat, their press was consistently broken by McKeesport guards Malina Boord and Madison Hertzler.
Boord scored 10 of her 15 points, including three of her four 3-pointers, in the first half to help the Tigers jump out to their big lead.
But while McKeesport had things under control, its aggressive
nature allowed Oakland Catholic back into the game. Junior forward Rachel Manfredo was forced to the bench in the second quarter with her third foul and that was where she stayed until the start of the fourth.
If that weren’t enough, junior Brooke Evans also picked up her third personal, which left McKeesport without two of its key players at a critical juncture.
“We just tried to slow the ball down and I kind of knew they’d make a little bit of a run with Brooke and Rachel on the bench,” McKeesport coach Amy Gumbert said. “We tried to hold the ball as much as we could to limit their possessions.”
With Manfredo out, Oakland Catholic was able to trim a 26-12 second-quarter deficit to 33-32 by the start of the fourth.
“That was very beneficial,” Benton said. “That kid is a star. There’s nothing she can’t do and, to have her off the floor, that’s the best defense wecould have.”
When Manfredo returned, she and Washington both had a back-and-forth to keep their teams in the game. Washington
hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep Oakland Catholic in striking distance while Manfredo, who led the Tigers with 24, scored nine of her 13 fourth-quarter and overtime points from the line.
But with all the late action, the game ended on a controversial call.
Tied 59-59, Creach went to the basket and crashed into McKeesport center Kaylee Charles. After a second’s hesitation, the referee called a block foul and put Creach on theline.
“Honestly, I thought at the last second, she slid over,” Benton said. “I thought she did. Initially he went like (charge) then he called the block.”
Even after Creach made the deciding free throw, McKeesport had one last gasp. But Evans’ desperation halfcourt 3-pointer hit the backboard, went off the rim and caromed away.
“Absolutely, it’s tough to end a game like that, for both teams,” Gumbert said. “The kids on the floor are giving everything they had and, to end the game like that was just crazy.”