Cayuga Health Simmons-RockwellTioga State Bank Dandy Mini Marts Valley Sports ReportGUTHRIE SPORTS MED Gannon Associates Williams Auto GroupI-R FCU




Knolles.gifcoachesPizza.jpgWSC.jpgSmithBrothers.jpgBodineMotor.jpgBX.jpg
NTL GIRLS BASKETBALL: TOWANDA TOPS ATHENS, 43-38, TO REPEAT AS LARGE SCHOOL CHAMPS (22 PHOTOS) (2021-02-24)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS "” Last year, Towanda won the NTL Large School title when Athens lost at Wyalusing in the season's final week. Wednesday night, the Lady Black Knights won it on their own, knocking off the Lady Wildcats, 43-38.

"It feels great. Last year, we were grateful to win. We got really lucky," said Towanda sophomore Paige Manchester.

"This year, we wanted to win it, and not rely on someone else," added Manchester. "It feels awesome, especially to come in here and win an NTL championship. It's awesome."

For first-year Towanda coach Rob Gentile, who coached the Troy girls "on and off" for 15 years, it was a night of firsts.

"It's hard to believe, but this my first win ever in this gym. I haven't had a lot of success here. "It's also my first-ever NTL title," said Gentile, who is an Athens grad and was a high school teammate of Athens coach Brian Miller for one year.

"It's a great feeling," noted Gentile. "The kids have put in the work. They've really bought in to what we're trying to do.

"They stayed together, and that was a key. I think at times in the past, they kind of came apart, and struggled in close games," added Gentile. "Tonight, I thought they stayed together."

Athens shot 36 percent (13 of 36) from the field, and senior Kayleigh Miller was limited to just nine shots by Towanda's Porschia Bennett. Two of Miller's three 3-pointers came with Bennett on the bench.

"I thought our defense was outstanding," said Gentile. "We like to get out and press, and in the past Athens has had some difficulty with that, but they did a good job against the press early on, so we decided to stay man.

"Plus, we have the Porschia Bennett effect. I don't care what anyone says, she is the toughest on-ball defender there is in the area," noted Gentile. "Mostly because of her athletic ability ... she's really worked hard and taken it to heart. We told her from day one, we wanted her to be the best defender in the league and that we were putting her on the other team's best player.

"Porschia has a little bit of a size and length advantage, and she's a great athlete," added Gentile. "We knew Kayleigh (Miller) would have difficulty with that, but (Kayleigh) is a tough kid. She made a couple shots tonight I can't believe went in."

"Porschia Bennett is a great defender," said Athens coach Brian Miller. "To hold Kayleigh down the way she did, kudos to her and her teammates."

Towanda also had a 30-15 edge on the boards, and limited Athens to just four offensive rebounds.

"We talked about rebounding," said Gentile. "Athens' advantage is their discipline. They run a system, and focus on getting their key players in spots where they can be successful.

"Our advantage is our athletic ability, so if we can't get out and press and create turnovers, we have to do it on the boards," he added. "We really focused on that tonight."

Manchester had the hot hand in the first quarter for the Lady Black Knights. Her second 3-pointer  gave Towanda an 11-5 lead with 1:58 left in the opening stanza.

Junior Caydence Macik trimmed the deficit to four points with a short jumper off the glass, and senior Megan Collins knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 11-10 with 46 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Just 18 seconds later, Manchester canned her third 3-pointer of the opening eight minutes to give Towanda a 14-10 lead.

A short jumper by senior Hannah Blackman trimmed the Athens deficit to 14-12, but Erin Barrett scored with 5:15 left in the first half, and Bella Hurley drained a 3-pointer about a minute later to put Towanda up 19-12.

Miller knocked down a 3-pointer for her first points of the game with 3:44 left in the second quarter to make it 19-15, but the Lady Wildcats wouldn't score again in the half.

Towanda didn't fare much better offensively, with a bucket by Bennett and a free throw by Barrett their only points in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the half. The Lady Knights led 22-15 at the intermission.

The teams traded points throughout the third quarter, and Towanda led 30-23 heading into the final eight minutes.

A 3-pointer by Bennett in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, and a lay-up in transition by Bennett stretched the lead to 35-23 with 6:23 left in the game.

After a free throw by Macik, Miller converted a rare four-point play after she was fouled while knocking down a deep 3-pointer from the left wing. Macik capped the quick 7-0 spurt with a steal and breakaway lay-up to make it 35-30 with 4:42 remaining in the contest.

After a Towanda time out, Barrett converted an old-fashioned three-point play to swing the momentum back in the Lady Knights' favor.

"The play was set up for Barrett," said Gentile. "We told them "˜we're not taking jump shots.'  The only way we were shooting the ball was getting it to the basket."

After a pair of free throws by Athens sophomore Karlee Bartlow, Towanda's Amanda Horton canned a 3-pointer to make it 41-32 with 3:43 left in the game,

Athens had a chance to cut into the lead, but went just 3-for-6 at the free-throw line over the next two minutes.

Miller's 3-pointer with 3 seconds remaining provided the final margin.

Brian Miller knows his team had its opportunities.

"We were not good from the foul line. We had some turnovers and defensive mistakes ... (Towanda) is a good basketball team, so it's hard to beat a team like that when you're 8 of 16 from the foul line, and you have some defensive mistakes to give them some easy baskets."

Despite the loss, Miller believes his team played well.

"I'm proud of us," he said. "(Towanda) has only lost one game this season ... we played them twice and battled them twice right to the end of the fourth quarter.

"To lose to them at their place by a few points, and then to give them all they could handler here, it's only going to help us to get ready for Districts.

"It's disappointing we didn't beat them, but we played well," added Miller. "There's no reason to put our heads down. Now, we move to the next two games and get ready for Districts."

Manchester led Towanda with 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Bennett had 11 points and five rebounds, Barrett added 10 points and six boards, Horton dished out six assists, and Hurley grabbed four boards.

Macik led Athens with 14 points, seven rebounds (including the 500th of her career), and three assists, while Miller scored 11 points, Collins added five points and three assists, and senior Rachel Stephens chipped in with four points, three rebounds, two steals, and one blocked shot.

Towanda, now 16-1, hosts NEB Friday night, while Athens (14-6) hosts North Penn-Mansfield Thursday.

"”"”"”"”"”"”

IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Rachel Stephens. IN PHOTO 2: Athens junior Caydence Macik is honored for snaring her 500th career rebound. IN PHOTO 3: The Athens and Towanda girls team prior to the game, all clad in the "No One Fights Alone" T-shirts to honor Athens coach Brian Miller's battle against Cancer. The Towanda team also made a donation to the fight against cancer in Coach Miler's name. ... PHOTOS BY DAVID ALLIGER - TRAVELING PORTRAITS.


You've asked about helping ...
here's your chance. Click HERE