×

Central girls advance

STEUBENVILLE — The postseason drought has come to a close for the Catholic Central girls’ basketball team.

Catholic Central, the No. 6 seed, erased a six-point deficit in the final four minutes of regulation before outscoring No. 12 seed Bridgeport, 11-8, in overtime to pull out a hard-fought 54-51 victory in an Ohio Division IV Eastern District Tournament second round game Thursday night inside the Mickey Barber Gymnasium.

The win was the Crusaders first postseason victory since the 2007-08 season. It also was Catholic Central’s third win against Bridgeport this season.

“This is our first postseason victory since 2008,” Catholic Central (15-8) head coach Jess Looman said. “This is big for them. At the beginning of the season, we had four goals. First, we wanted to have a winning season. We are 15-8 now, so no matter what happens on Saturday we are guaranteed to have a winning season. Second, we wanted to make the OVAC Championship Game, which he did. Third, we wanted to win the city championship, but unfortunately we split with Big Red this season. Finally, we wanted to win a tournament game. Being able to achieve three of our foul goals is not bad.”

The Bulldogs led 37-31 with four minutes left to play in regulation, but the girls from Belmont County were not able to hold the lead.

“These girls don’t quit,” first-year Bridgeport (11-12) head coach Greg Harkness said. “They don’t quit. We end the season 11-12, but the girls play hard until the game is over. They just made a couple more plays than we did.

“We missed some big foul shots late. We also had some turnovers at untimely times. It was not because of a lack of effort.

“They are a good basketball team. We saw them twice during the regular season. We knew it was going to be a close game. They just made one more play than we did.”

With the win, Catholic Central will play fifth-seeded Fort Frye at 7 p.m. Saturday in Beverly in a district quarterfinal. Fort Frye defeated No. 7 seed Shadyside, 51-43, at home Thursday night to set up the matchup between the Crusaders and the Cadets.

“We have not seen them play,” Looman said. “We have a couple of tapes on them. We are going to watch them before Saturday. They are the fifth seed. We are the sixth seed. It should be a good matchup. I’m hoping it is.”

The victors scored nine of their first 12 points of overtime to build a 52-46 advantage. The teams traded baskets to make it 54-48 before the girls in black hit a 3-pointer as the waning seconds ticked off the clock to account for the final score.

“It was a tough game,” Looman said. “We had seen them twice in the regular season. We knew what to expect. They came out and played hard. They made it tough on us.”

Six players scored in the game for the Blue and Gold, two of which reached double digits. Individually, Brittany Bertoia tallied a team-high 21 points, while Samm Simmons scored 12 points.

Six players also scored in the game for the Bulldogs, but only one player reached double digits. Individually, Marissa Beal tallied a game-high 24 points to lead the way, while Kamden Dulesky and Deja Massey each scored seven points.

“Little No. 10 (Beal) hit a lot of shots for them,” Looman said. “I don’t think she scored a lot of points in our first two games this season. She stepped up for them. She had a lot of points when they went on their run.

“We got down. We have four seniors, and I asked them if they wanted this to be their last game and if they were just going to give up, but they didn’t give up. They know how to play basketball. They stepped up when they were challenged.”

Trailing by six midway through the fourth quarter, the hosts, sparked by 3-pointers, were able to pull to within 40-39 on a 3-pointer by Shayna Mirabella. Bertoia had the other five points — three coming on her fifth 3-pointer of the night — in the run.

After two foul shots by Beal gave the Bulldogs a 42-39 advantage with 54.2 seconds still showing on the scoreboard clock, Simmons scored a basket to make it 42-41, but she was unable to complete the three-point play. The Crusaders ended up getting the ball back, and Simmons once again scored to put Catholic Central up 43-42 with 30.5 seconds left, but she once again failed to complete the three-point play.

“We made some outside shots,” Looman said about what enabled her team to comeback. “We tell the girls to be patient with their shots. Tonight, we rushed a lot of shots. In the fourth quarter, we were able to make some shots from the outside, and then we were able to look underneath.

“This group has played together for three years. They know what they have to do to win. They did not let things bother them. They were able to come back. They were mentally strong, and they were able to take advantage of their opportunities.”

Trailing by one, the visitors had a chance to take the lead with 11.7 seconds left on the clock when Dulesky was fouled. She made 1 of 2 from the line to tie the score at 43.

“Honestly, we missed some foul shots,” Harkness said about what enabled Catholic Central to comeback. “When you are making 1 of 2 from the line and they are scoring baskets, that lead is going to evaporate. They also hit a big 3 in there.

“I can’t fault our effort. It wasn’t due to a lack of trying. It came down to a couple of plays at the end.”

The home team had a final shot to win the game at the end of the regulation, but Gabby Capaldi’s 3-pointer banged off the rim keeping the game tied and sending the game into overtime.

“I want to thank the fans,” Looman said. “The last couple of weeks we have gotten great fan support.

“They were out in full force tonight. I think they helped to build our confidence and helped us get back into the game.”

Both teams struggled from the free-throw line. Catholic Central converted just 10 of 22 attempts from the charity stripe, while Bridgeport made 16 of 29 shots from the foul line.

The Crusaders got off to a slow start in the game. Bertoia scored all five of her team’s points in the first quarter as Bridgeport took a 9-5 lead at the end of the opening quarter. The Crusaders went more than three minutes without scoring before Bertoia converted a pair of foul shots.

The tables turned in the second quarter as the Bulldogs were held without a field goal in the quarter. Catholic Central outscored Bridgeport, 13-4, in the quarter to take an 18-13 lead into halftime.

The Crusaders continued to play well in the third quarter as two shots by Capaldi gave Catholic Central its biggest advantage of the game at 11 points — 29-18 — with 2:14 remaining to be played in the quarter.

“It really looked like they were going to pull away, but then we started to grind,” Harkness said. “We have four seniors and they could have given up, but they displayed great leadership and we kept battling.

“Tonight was a microcosm of our season. We got down, but we battled back.”

Though down, the Bulldogs were far from out of it as they ripped off a 19-2 run to take a 37-31 lead on a basket by Beal.

“This is my first year, and I am proud of the girls,” Harkness said. “They brought it all year. We started the season 3-9 and they could have given up on the season, but the seniors bought into what we are trying to do. They seniors grind. They work hard.

“We end the season at 11-12. That is not where we wanted to end up. I can’t fault their effort. We could have ended 7-and-something.”

The Crusaders led 31-24 entering the fourth quarter before Bridgeport came back.

“I don’t know if we kind of get unfocused, or if they just went on a big run,” Looman said about Bridgeport’s big spurt to regain the lead.

The game was the final one for Bridgeport’s four seniors — Josie Bugaj, Samantha Ivan, Sydney Kloss and Massey.

Catholic Central 54, Bridgeport 51 OT

Bridgeport 9 4 11 19 8 – 51

Catholic Central 5 13 13 12 11 – 54

BRIDGEPORT (11-12): Beal 6 12-18 24, Dulesky 2 3-6 7, Tucker 0 0-0 0, Massey 3 1-2 7, Neer 2 0-0 6, Bugaj 1 0-0 3, Harmon 0 0-0 0, Sommer 0 0-3 0, Matheny 2 0-0 4, Ivan 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 16-29 51. 3-Pointers: Neer 2, Bugaj.

CATHOLIC CENTRAL (15-8): Bertoia 6 4-4 21, Zatta 0 0-0 0, Turnage 0 0-0 0, Mirabella 1 1-2 4, Taglione 1 0-2 2, Godich 3 0-2 6, Oliver 0 0-0 0, Simmons 5 2-6 12, Capaldi 2 4-6 9. TOTALS: 18 10-22. 3-Pointers: Bertoia 5, Mirabella, Capaldi.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today