NTL GIRLS BASKETBALL: WELLSBORO RALLIES IN SECOND HALF TO TOP SAYRE, 53-40, IN SHOWDOWN FINALS (18 PHOTOS) (2019-02-16)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
MANSFIELD - Sayre went cold from the field in the second half, allowing Wellsboro to rally for a 53-40 win here Saturday night in the championship game of the NTL Girls Showdown at Decker Gymnasium on the campus of Mansfield University.

The Lady Redskins led by as many as eight points in the first half, but made just 6 of 30 (20 percent) shots from the field in the second half, including a dismal 0-for-14 from behind the 3-point arc.

"It's a disappointing loss, but a good learning experience for our younger players who have not had ‘big stage' experience," said Sayre coach Eileen Sparduti.

"Unfortunately, we had two consistent scorers struggle on the same night," she noted. "We have had games where one had an off night, but two together was a big scoring challenge to overcome.

"And, we just could not get untracked in the second half," added Sparduti. "We took good shots, but could not get them to fall."

Sparduti believes the loss will be beneficial for her team.

"Kudos to Wellsboro," she said. "They hung tough and fought back hard until they took the lead in the third quarter, and did not relinquish it.

"You never want to lose a game like this, but it is exactly what we needed to prep us for districts," added Sparduti. "Every (postseason) game is of this caliber and intensity. We have to be able to rise to that situation."

Senior Camry Lane and sophomore Gabbi Randall scored Sayre's first two buckets on offensive rebounds to give the Lady Redskins an early 4-2 lead.

Randall turned a steal near mid-court into a lay-up to give Sayre a 6-4 lead with 5:34 left in the first quarter, then Lane knocked down a jumper from the top-of-the-key, and scored on a breakaway lay-up off a steal 25 seconds later to make it 10-4 with 4:43 remaining in the first quarter.

On Sayre's next possession, Lane pulled up in transition and drained a 15-foot jumper to push the lead to 12-4.

The Lady Redskins missed an opportunity to extend their lead to double-digits when they missed a pair of free throws, and Wellsboro standout Emma Poirer made them pay by converting an old-fashioned three-point play to close the gap to 12-7 with 3:43 remaining in the first quarter.

Junior Emily Sutryk knocked down a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left in the first quarter to make it 15-9, and Sayre had an opportunity to extend its lead, but turned the ball over in transition with 3.4 seconds remaining.

Wellsboro in-bounded the ball from under their own bucket after the turnover as Sayre fell back into its zone defense, and Poirer's uncontested half-court shot at the buzzer found nothing-but-net to trim the deficit to 15-12 after the first eight minutes.

Poirer drained a long 3-pointer on Wellsboro's first possession of the second quarter to tie the game, then turned a steal at midcourt into an uncontested lay-up to give the Lady Hornets their first lead of the game, at 17-15, with 7:27 left in the first half.

Sayre bounced back quickly, however, with a putback on the offensive boards by Klovekorn to tie the game, and a 3-pointer by Lane to give Sayre a 20-17 lead with 6:05 remaining in the first half.

Lane scored on a driving lay-up with 3:45 left in the first half to give Sayre a 23-19 lead. A bucket by Randall 30 seconds later, and a free throw by Lane with 2:01 left in the half would extend the lead to 26-21.

Wellsboro would chip away at the lead until Poirer drained a pair of free throws with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter to give the Lady Hornets the lead for good, at 30-29.

After two more free throws by Poirer, Klovekorn would knocked down a pair of short jumpers, sandwiched around a driving lay-up by Poirer, to pull Sayre back within one point, at 34-33, with 58 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Catherine Brought then knocked down a big 3-pointer with 39 seconds remaining to make it 37-33.

Wellsboro came up with a defensive stop in the closing moments of the third quarter, but Lane registered a steal under the Wellsboro bucket for a quick lay-up to trim the lead to 37-35 entering the final eight minutes.

Liza Manning scored on a drive down the lane with 6:58 left in the game to give Wellsboro a 39-35 lead. Manning scored again with 5 1/2 minutes remaining to extend the lead to 41-36, but Randall scored just 8 seconds later to close the gap to 41-38.

The Lady Redskins wouldn't score again for 4 1/2 minutes, and Wellsboro took advantage with a 9-0 run, sparked by another Brought 3-pointer, to extend their lead to 50-38 with 1:05 left in the game.

Lane led Sayre with 20 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Randall had 11 points, eight rebounds (five on the offensive boards), and three steals, and Klovekorn added five points, nine rebounds, and one blocked shot.

Sutryk chipped in with four points for Sayre, and senior Amber Merrill grabbed five rebounds.

Poirer led Wellsboro with 23 points, five rebounds, and three steals, and Brought added 15 points, eight boards, and three steals.

Sayre. now 16-8, returns to action next week in the District 4, Class AA playoffs. (Seedings and opening-round match-ups will be announced Sunday afternoon.)

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IN PHOTO 1: Sayre's Camry Lane. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.