PARKERSBURG - Host Parkersburg Catholic scored the last five points of the game as the Crusaderettes rallied from six down in the fouth quarter to overcome Tyler Consolidated 48-45 in an LKC North girls basketball contest Tuesday night.
Playing before PCHS basketball legend Mary Ostrowski, the two teams traded 16-8 quarters for the first two periods of the game to go the locker rooms at halftime deadlocked at 24-all, and Tyler led 38-34 heading into the fourth quarter - when things got interesting.
Sophie Kinnard canned two baskets for Tyler (2-3, 0-3 LKC North) in the first 1:40 of the fourth to give her team a 42-36 lead. But Rachel Nill and Leah Hughes then drilled back-to-back treys to earn Catholic a 42-42 tie with 2:49 to play before the Silver Knights got three free throws to forge a 45-42 advantage with just 1:31 remaining.
Maddie Roedesheimer, though, got inside down low in the lane for a hoop at the 1:07 mark, then, after a steal at midcourt, added a rebound bucket with 49.4 seconds left to push the Crusaderettes on top 46-45.
At this point, Tyler had to foul. But having only committed one foul in the second half, the Knights, even when they fouled PC, didn't send the Crusaderettes to the line yet. So Catholic was able to run more time off the clock with each succeeding possession until PC finally went to the foul line with only 5.8 seconds to play.
Leah Hughes' two free throws gave Catholic a three-point edge, and Tyler's trey try fell short at the final buzzer as PCHS improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the LKC North.
Roedersheimer netted 18 points and grabbed a double-digit bundle of rebounds for Catholic while Nill dropped in 11 points, including three treys, and Hughes finished with 10.
For Tyler, Allison Wable led with 11 points, followed by both Torrye Cline and Kinnard with 10 each.
''That was a game about heart and guts, and digging deep when it mattered most, and our girls responded,'' said PC head coach Marty Vierheller.
''Momentum is a great thing when she's on your side, and we were without it for a long, long time tonight. But when we nailed a couple shots (the two straight treys in the fourth quarter), we took it and didn't gi\ve it back.''
