Fantastic finish - Lady Elkers advance
BROCKWAY – Junior Emma Vargas' score that left less than a second on the clock, gave Ridgway (20-5) a 44-42 win over DuBois Central Catholic (13-11) on Wednesday at BAHS, advancing the Lady Elkers to Saturday's District 9 Class A championship game against Elk County Catholic (23-2) at PennWest Clarion.
"I'm excited for Emma, and I'm excited for the team," said head coach Jay Schreiber. "This (playing for a championship) is what we said we wanted at the beginning of the year."
Ridgway won the two previous games against the Lady Cardinals.
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy. DuBois Central is a topnotch team, and games with them always seem to come down to something like this. Fortunately for us, we were able to hold on and finish it."
The Vargas winner finished the total team effort, led by the three seniors, Gabby Amacher, Kristen Ellenberger, and Jenna Kasmierski.
Amacher scored a game-high 17 points, including four threes, and gutted out the finish after an awkward hit of her hand with under 30 seconds remaining.
Kasmierski scored 13 points and added a double-digit rebounds. The crowd was hushed with 5:19 left, when she left the court with what appeared to be a severe ankle injury with a 36-33 lead. She returned with 3:47 remaining.
While Kasmierski was getting evaluated, Ellenberger, who left last week's quarterfinal win with an injury, converted two layups in 40 seconds, putting Ridgway up by seven.
She finished with six points.
"Those three have stepped up at different times throughout the year, so it's kind of ironic they all three [had key moments]. Gabby was hitting three-pointers to keep us close. Kaz was on a mission for rebounds and putbacks, and then Kristen drove baseline to get big baskets for us."
Down 40-33, the Lady Cardinals, who led 22-19 at the half, tied the game with a 9-2 run finished with a bucket by Kaylee Risser with nine seconds left.
Ellenberger handled a near steal and fed Vargas for the winner –with 0.4 seconds remaining. Chaos followed. DCC would not get another chance when a timeout was called with none remaining, giving the Lady Elkers two foul shots and the ball.
A successful inbound ended the game to the jubilation of the huge contingent of Ridgway fans.
Asked if the winner was how he drew it up, Schreiber chuckled.
"I take zero credit – that's all the players."
The coach said he's been confident Vargas could hit when needed.
"I've been telling Emma for the past two years that she's really a good shooter, and I just want her spotting up and taking shots. I probably have more confidence than she does, and she just proved she can knock down those shots."
The Lady Elker coach was thrilled with contributions from junior starter Grace Bon, sophomore Sara Zameroski and freshman Sophia Fullem off the bench. The three each had two points.
"I thought Grace did a great job for us, and Sara came in and gave us some big minutes. Sophia didn't get in as much as she'd been, but she gave us big minutes, too.
"[The girls] have worked hard for this, and I am overly excited for them to get the chance to go to Clarion."
A win on Saturday against ECC would give Ridgway its first championship since 1989 – when assistant Dina Fullem was a junior.
The Lady Crusaders have three wins over the Lady Elkers this season. They won the first game, 44-18 to claim the Elk County Holiday Tournament, 49-35 in Ridgway on Jan. 18, and 33-21 at home in the AML semifinals.
DCC plays Clarion tonight in the consolation game. Last night Port Allegany and North Clarion played for the district's fifth PIAA spot.