Popping the clutch
Vaughan comes up big late as Central Catholic claims 4A crown
No underdog story here.
It was a day for the top dog once again after an unusual lengthy wait.
A tremendously clutch shot was the difference in an exciting and entertaining District 11 Class 4A girls basketball championship game Thursday afternoon between third-seeded Central Catholic and upstart Jim Thorpe.
Senior guard Emily Vaughan knocked down a 3-pointer from the left side with 46 seconds left to break a 36-36 tie and propel the Viketttes to a 41-36 victory over the fourth-seeded Olympians at Allentown’s PPL Center.
Vaughan, a four-year starter, made a game-winning shot at the buzzer to win the first state game she ever played in as a freshman.
“Every time she shoots the ball I believe she’s going to make it,” Vikettes coach
Mike Kopp said. “I can tell when she gets that little hop and gets that rhythm.”
“They had a lot of confidence in me and the ball just happened to be in my hands,” said Vaughan, who will play at Muhlenberg next season. “I shot it and it went in.
“It was so awesome. We finally get our name on a banner at Rockne Hall. What a thrill.”
In an outstanding display of balanced scoring, Madi Szoke led Central with 10 points while Vaughan, Hanna Hoeing and freshman point guard Molly Driscoll all scored nine. The fifth starter, Julia Roth, played a great floor game.
Central Catholic (16-3) — the holy grail of local girls basketball since the inception of the modern, five-on-five-style, fullcourt game in 1970 — won its first district title since 2012. Before that Central won 21 of them in 32 title games.
Kopp, he of the 1,024 career wins, has
guided the Vikettes to 21 of those district titles as well as five of the program’s seven state titles.
“Every year you work with the group you have and enjoy them and coach them,” said Kopp, who is in his 45th season overall. “We have great assistant coaches in the program that have been with me forever and some recent players that have come back to coach. The kids love that. They like to see former players come back.”
Central will make its 39th state playoff tournament appearance against the District 1 champion in a quarterfinal game March 20. The Vikettes are 79-31 in those games with 11 title game appearances.
Jim Thorpe (19-6) sees its best three-season run in history end in heartbreaking fashion. It fell in the final for the third straight time after losing to Bethlehem Catholic the two previous seasons.
The Olympians are 68-13 the last three seasons with their firstever Schuylkill League title and two runner-up finishes as well.
Who was that masked Olympian?
That would be junior guard Skyler Searfoss, a two-time all-state selection already with a third approaching, who got to show the rest of the district exactly what kind of player she is.
She scored 18 of Jim Thorpe’s first 32 points before not taking a shot in the fourth quarter thanks to Driscoll’s man defense
Searfoss was the prime reason why Jim Thorpe took its biggest lead of the game, 32-28, late in the third quarter after she completed a three-point play. She made 7 of 8 shots in the game.
Hoeing’s hot start
The 5-for-10 junior forward was in a zone early and made her first three shots. Hoeing scored
Central’s first seven points on a 3-pointer, a jumper from the lane and another short jumper after a Szoke steal.
“Everybody knew they had to play their best today,” Hoeing said. “We’re building the program back up again.
“We have a lot of young players coming up, and we’re going to have a real great program again real soon.”
Driscoll scored, was fouled and completed the three-point play as the Vikettes made 4 of 6 shots to start. Another Szoke steal led to her layup and a 14-5 lead after a quarter.
What a second quarter
In a game that had sevenlead changes this quarter was the most back and forth as Jim Thorpe came back from seven points down to tie the score at 16-16. A Searfoss 3-pointer gave the Olympians a 19-18 lead, but Szoke ended the half with two
buckets for a 24-21 Vikettes lead.
Epiloge
Driscoll, given the reins as the floor leader as a ninth grader, has been everything Kopp could ask for this season, and she came through late with back-to-back baskets to give Central the lead back at 36-34.
“This is insane, an insane feeling,” Driscoll said. “We wanted this so bad for our seniors who really deserve it. We knew we had to face a great team, but we had a game plan.
“Yes, I was nervous coming in. But once it started I told myself it’s just another basketball game.”
Mackenzie Yuhas was wide open for a high-low feed to tie the score at 36-36 to set up Vaughan’s clutch bomb. Szoke clinched the game with the first of two free throws with nine seconds remaining to give Central a fourpoint lead.