Lady Rams use strong second half to down PO

By Kenny Varner
SPRING MILLS – Turning it on late!!
Despite a first half that had the Penns Valley girls basketball team holding a close 19-11 first half lead over Philipsburg-Osceola, the Rams were able to up their game in the second half en route to a convincing 52-28 victory.
Kailen Winkelblech finished the night with a hard earned double-double finishing with a game-high 19 points while pulling down 11 rebounds.
Scotty Dinges was second high scorer with an 8-point performance.
Rounding out the Lady Rams leading scorers was Cate Goodwin third with seven points and five rebounds.
Katie Romig has a busy night on the boards as she finished with 10.
The Mounties were led in the scoring department by Khendyl Sharrer with an 11-point effort.
Teammate Camden Potter finished with nine points.
In the first quarter both defenses came out and made a statement.
Defensively, the Lady Mounties used its rebounding skills to keep the Rams from second chance shots while Penns Valley used its quick reflexes that forced numerous turnovers.
Philipsburg got on the board first to take the 2-0 advantage when Potter hit a jumper in the lane.
Later on in the period, Penns Valley knotted things at two on a Paige Dobson Bucket.
Sharrer would hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to give her team the 3-2 lead after one.
The Rams started to warm up offensively in the second.
Winkleblech opened off the period hitting 2-of-2 after being hacked when going up for a shot.
Minutes later Winkleblech found herself in the same situation and was clutch under pressure hitting another pair from the foul line.
Potter cut the Penns Valley lead to one after a bucket of her own, cutting it to a 6-5 contest.
The Rams rallied back to extend its lead via a 6-0 run to add to its lead to 12-5 with 4:54 left in the half.
Sharrer stopped the Penns Valley’s momentum with a runner in the lane.
But the Rams continued to cure its early scoring woes with a 7-6 run to end the period.
When the first half came to an end, Penns Valley had a comfortable 19-11 advantage.
After the second, the Mounties were still leading in the battle of the boards by a 19-14 margin.
Going into the third period, the Mounties came out fighting.
With a quick 4-2 run, Philipsburg-Osceola cut into the lead at 21-15.
But that would be as close as the feisty Mounties would get as the Lady Rams would battle back and outscore them the rest of the quarter on a 10-1 run.
In the final stanza, the Rams continued its momentum as it ended the contest with the 52-28 victory.
Penns Valley Overall Record is 7-10 and a Mountain League Record of 6-5.