The Otto-Eldred Lady Terrors (18-8) earned their first-ever victory at the PIAA tournament level on Saturday, defeating District 7’s West Greene (19-6) 61-57 at Bradford High School in round one of the Class A girls tourney.
The Terrors — who were paced by 26 points from junior Camryn Thomas — fell behind 12-0 to start the game, but managed to slowly claw their way back thanks to some timely takeaways and great late free-throw shooting (20 for 32 on the game).
Mckenna Lampe scored a game-high 34 points for the Lady Pioneers, including 16 in a first quarter that saw West Greene hit four 3-pointers to jump out to a 23-11 lead after eight minutes.
Despite being a bit shellshocked early on, the Terrors regained their composure and clamped down on defense, creating turnovers and getting points in transition.
Thomas was dominant in the paint all game long, finishing with 13 rebounds to go along with her 26 points for a double-double. Thomas reached the 20-point plateau for the third consecutive game in Otto’s postseason run.
It wasn’t until the 6:02 mark in the fourth quarter when a pair of free throws by Ali Cousins (15 points) gave O-E its first lead of the game at 44-42.
Lampe and the Pioneers would answer quickly, however, as much of the fourth quarter involved the two sides answering the other basket for basket.
It was the Terrors’ ability to get to the free-throw line consistently late in the game that allowed them to keep West Greene at bay.
A steal by Tiffany Bair (seven points) with just over a minute to go set up another trip to the charity stripe that gave Otto a 58-53 lead, which would prove enough to get the ‘W’.
“We told the girls they can do this,” Otto coach Barb Close said. “We just have to be in a good mental state. We can play like a top team.”
Otto’s victory sets up a date with Kennedy Catholic — who defeated Williamsburg 56-31 — on Wednesday. Kennedy Catholic is the No. 1-ranked Class A team in the state by MaxPreps.
AT BRADFORD, Pa.
West Greene (57)
Rizor 2 3-4 8, Ma. Lampe 1 3-6 5, Mc. Lampe 13 3-3 34, Goodman 1 1-2 3, Rode 2 1-3 5, Cumberledge 1 0-0 2.Totals: 20 11-18 57.
Otto-Eldred (61)
Cousins 4 6-8 15, Shelander 1 4-6 7, Bair 3 0-2 7, Thomas 9 8-12 26, Smith 1 0-0 2, Greeley 0 0-2 0, Frederick 1 2-2 4.Totals: 19 20-32 61.
West Greene 23 27 40 57
Otto-Eldred 11 25 35 61
Three-point goals: WG 6 (Rizor, Mc. Lampe 5); O-E 3 (Cousins, Shelander, Bair). Total fouls: WG 23, O-E 16. Fouled out: Mc. Lample (WG).
