Lady Huskies rally from down 11; top Tigers in OT

By Kenny Varner

LEWISTOWN – Coming through in the clutch!

Trailing by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter, the MIfflin County girls basketball team caught fire late thanks to a total team effort on both sides of the court, forcing its game against Hollidaysburg to an overtime period tied at 48.

It would be clutch rebounding and shooting by Brianna Bodtorf and Marissa Gingrich that would give the Huskies the 57-55 comeback win Friday night.

Some nights you have the touch and some nights you don’t. But for the Lady Huskies it was a night of both. But when it counted the “Purple and Black Attack” came through for the victory.

“They are resilient. How many team can shoot 16 percent in the first half, which is what we did. Be down like that and keep fighting the whole way and find a way to pull that out at the end. That was just a character gut-check for the kids,” said MIfflin County coach Roger Herto. “It was a build from our last game. We went down to play on of the better teams in the state in Trinity and we were down big but we kept fighting and kept fighting and won the game from the second quarter on so as told them that was something important and something to build off of.”

Going into the overtime period, the two teams were tied at 48.

After the jump ball, MIfflin County went right to work on offense after a hard fought rebound by Bodtorf..

Bodtorf then broke free and sent one from beyond three for the triple, taking a 51-48 lead.

The Tigers cut it to one when Ali Hatajik hit one-of-two from the charity stripe.

Gingrich, who hit for 13 points on the night, hit a runner in the lane to increase the lead back to three with 2:04 left.

However, Hollidaysburg came back on consecutive trips down court and went on a 4-0 run, taking back the lead 54-53 with 1:21 left.

MIfflin County again went to Bodtorf down in the paint and she did not disappoint, putting it in from with a turn around jumper, giving her team back the lead.

With 31 ticks left on the clock, Mayin Miller hit one-of-two from the free throw line, tying things at 55.

But with time running out, MIfflin County again fed the ball to Bodtorf in the paint and she was clutch, hitting  it from down low with less than 20 seconds left.

With the Tigers needing a basket to tie Bodtorf pulled down a Hollidaysburg miss and then was caught for a jump ball.

As the Tigers faced having to shoot with 0.6 seconds left, MIfflin County’s defense stood tall and refused to allow them even a smell of the rim.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers held a 36-27 advantage over MIfflin County.

It would be a patient march by the Huskies as little by little they chipped away the Tigers’ lead.

Two triples by Mya Aumiller and clutch buckets by Gingrich and Bodtorf brought the team within striking distance under the final minute.

With 35 seconds left, Gingrich set up a pic that Bodtorf would use to break free from her defender and hit the easy lay in, tying the game at 48 and sending the game into overtime.

Shooting woes hampered the Lady Huskies basketball team in the first half against the Tigers but the Huskies found themselves only trailing 18-15.

The Tigers also took advantage of their height advantage throughout the game until the final minutes of regulation and then the overtime period, where Bodtorf and company were able to pull down the clutch boards when their team needed it.

Bodtorf led the team with a 16-point effort  and a 10-rebound night for the double-double while teammates Gingrich and Aumiller posted 13 in the comeback.

The Tigers were led by Hatajik’s double-double of 15 boards and a game-high 21 points.

Sydney Lear had a strong night for Hollidaysburg with 14 while teammate Miller rounded out the double-digit shooters with 13.

MIfflin County  57, Hollidaysburg 55

HO 9 9 18 12  7 – 55

MC 9 6 12 21 9 – 57

Scoring: Hollidaysburg – Mayin Miller 5 2-5 13, Taylor Smith 1 0-0 2, Sydney Lear 4 4-4 14, Camryn Figaro 1 0-0 2, Ali Hatajik 9 3-4 21, Ashden Stitt 0 1-2 1, Sam Shoemaker 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 10-15 55.

MIfflin County – Mya Aumiller 4 2-2 13, Marissa Gingrich 4 2-3 13, Kate Knable 2 0-0 4, Hanna Rittenhouse 2 0-0 4, 2 0-0 5, Brianna Bodtorf 7 1-1 16. Totals 23 5-6 57.

Played but didn’t score: Hollidaysburg – Hannah DiPangrazio 0 0-0 0.

MIfflin County – None  .

3-point scorers: MIfflin – Rittenhouse, Bodtorf, Gingrich, Aumiller 3. Hollidaysburg – Miller, Lear 2.