The monkey is off their back and Otto-Eldred head coach Barb Close couldn’t be more happy.

After being ousted in the first round of the playoffs the last two seasons – including last year’s upset loss against Elk Catholic – Otto-Eldred got a little bit of revenge Friday night, knocking off the Lady Crusaders, 52-46, in a raucous Bradford High gymnasium.

Close, who’s coached most of the players for their entire basketball careers, was proud of the way her team handled the pressure of the moment, even when a miscommunication at the beginning of the third quarter resulted in six Otto-Eldred players on the court.

“We kept our composure,” Close said. “I’m a true believer of all things happen for a reason and that technical foul was totally on me because it was a miscommunication with one of my girls with subbing and when they came over, we really just talked about what we needed to do at that time.

“They held it together and I told them not to worry about it. That was the big thing going into this game. We knew we were going to be pressured and we know ECC likes to pressure.”

In what turned out to be a back-and-forth game, Otto-Eldred came up with more big plays down the stretch, while Elk Catholic had trouble against the Lady Terror press late in the fourth quarter. With a loud crowd on hand, Otto-Eldred overcame a 41-36 deficit to end the game on a 16-5 run.

“It’s all we talked about all week, handling the pressure,” Close said. “I’m so incredibly proud, and I can’t express that more, because I knew that was the one thing (pressure) we were going to get.”

Then down by one with 2:25 left in the game, Emily Smith (four points, 10 rebounds) came up with a steal and passed ahead to Ali Cousins (12 points, three assists) as the Lady Terrors took a slim one-point lead. With under two to go, Cousins drove the lane and passed to Camryn Thomas (11 points, 12 rebounds) for an easy layup and 47-45 lead.

“One of Ali’s comments (last night) at practice was that we’re not going to lose,” Close said. “She missed a lot of layups but she went back and did a lot of other good things.”

Two Alyssa Shelander free throws with 53 seconds left gave the Lady Terrors a 49-44 lead, but Sady VanAlstine, fresh off the bench, sank two from the line for the Lady Crusaders.

Shelander made two more free throws before Elk Catholic turned it over and Tiffany Bair (12 points) was all alone under the basket for an easy score to end the game.

“This is a goal that we have set for a couple years now,” Close said. “We really started to see the light at the end of the tunnel at the end of the season. Like I said, we have a lot of girls who are such good leaders.”  

The playoff win is the program’s first since 2010. By advancing to the D-9 Class A semifinals, where the team will face off against North Tier League rival Northern Potter next week, the Lady Terrors are assured a spot in the state tournament.

Otto-Eldred’s full-court press allowed Elk Catholic some easy baskets, but it also sped up the tempo of the game. The Lady Crusaders turned the ball over three times late in the game and were held scoreless for the last two-plus minutes.

With a week’s layoff since their last game, Otto-Eldred had the chance to go over situational basketball in practice, but, as Close mentioned a long period without games can have its downfalls.

“We went over every possible situation that we could with them,” Close said. “Our press is something they know how to do. We always tell them it’s all heart and defensive-minded. At halftime, Ali Cousins, our lead guard, said, ‘We’re going to win this game with defense.’ Sometimes they know. They really came together as a team. I can’t say enough about this team and how much they have bonded this season.”

Reilly Herzing, Elk Catholic’s top scoring threat, scored a game-high 26 points. However, only four other Lady Crusaders scored and none topped more than seven points.

AT BRADFORD

Elk Catholic (46)

Reilly Herzing 11 4-8 26, Newton 0 0-2 0, Cashmere 1 3-6 6, Smith 2 1-2 5, Cunningham 3 0-2 7, VanAlstine 0 2-2 2. Totals: 17 10-22 46.

Otto-Eldred (52)

Ali Cousins 6 0-0 12, Shelander 0 6-8 6, Tiffany Bair 3 6-11 12, Camryn Thomas 4 3-4 11, Smith 0 4-4 4, Frederick 3 0-1 7. Totals: 16 19-28 52.

Elk Catholic  6 18 34 46

Otto-Eldred 13 21 31 52

Three-point goals: Elk Catholic 2 (Cashmere, Cunningham); Otto-Eldred 1(Frederick)

Total fouls: Elk Catholic 17, Otto-Eldred 15. Fouled out: (Smith, Cunningham) Elk County; Frederick (Otto-Eldred). Technical foul: Otto-Eldred