OLSH survives late fourth quarter Central Cambria surge to advance to PIAA semifinals
NORTH HUNTINGDON — At this point in the season, the name of the game is to survive and advance. On Friday, OLSH did just that as it held on against a late fourth-quarter surge from Central Cambria to punch its ticket to the girls basketball PIAA Class 3A semifinals for the second time in three years with a 47-43 win at Norwin High School.
OLSH (25-4) seemed to be in the driver's seat with less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter holding an 11-point advantage.
But Central Cambria, who had been held to just 12 points in the second half went on a 7-2 run in the final minute of the game to cut the lead down to a four-point OLSH advantage but came up just short in the final seconds.
“We missed some free throws on the other end which kept them [Central Cambria] in it,” OLSH head coach Don Eckerle said. “But as a team, we did a nice job in the fourth quarter working the clock.”
Outside of Central Cambria's run in the final moments of the game, OLSH controlled the tempo on offense while also shutting its opponent down defensively for most of the second half.
After a back-and-forth second quarter, OLSH was stout on defense in the second half, holding Central Cambria (19-9) to just six points in the third quarter and extending its lead to 12 points.
“We made them [Central Cambria] do things that it did not want to do,” OLSH combo-guard Leah Parker said. “On defense we were forcing them to take shots that they did not normally take that we saw on film. They were able to break us late but we found a way to work against that and finish the game strong.”
Coupled with the team’s strong defense, OLSH’s offense found different ways to penetrate Central Cambria’s zone defense.
Three players reached double figures for OLSH with Claudia Ierullo finishing with a team-high 17 points.
While Ierullo finished with the team high, Parker notched 13 points while getting the team’s offense humming in the first quarter knocking down two shots from long range and finishing the quarter with eight points.
“I was so happy to hit those shots to begin the game as it was a big help for our momentum,” Parker said. “It showed us that we could play with them [Central Cambria] and if you’re open, have the confidence to shoot.”
OLSH will now set its sights on the PIAA semifinals as it will face fellow WPIAL opponent Shady Side Academy next Friday at a site and time to be determined.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: OLSH defeats Central Cambria, advances to PIAA girls basketball semifinals
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