DUBOIS — Despite playing far from their best game, the Coudersport girls still had a chance to pull out a dramatic come-from-behind win last night.

But the Lady Falcons simply made too many mistakes to overcome the Reynolds Lady Raiders, falling 38-35 in Tuesday’s PIAA Class AA Second Round contest.

Reynolds (16-10) used a big first-half run and took advantage of some late Coudy mistakes to come away with the victory and advance to the state quarterfinals for the first time.

For Coudersport (23-3), a district title-winning season came to a premature end despite a valiant rally that would’ve sent the Falcons to the state’s final eight for the first time in 14 years.

Despite averaging just 36.8 points per game coming into the contest compared to Coudersport’s 63.8, the Raiders were pushing the pace early and often which led to a number of early turnovers by the Falcons. Coudy simply didn’t look comfortable in the early going, with long stretches of simple passes leading to difficult shot opportunities.

“Credit them; they were fast, they were physical,” Coudy coach Brian Green said. “Both of those things we saw on film. We knew it was going to be that way. Unfortunately when you’re talking 16, 17, 18-year old girls, they got nervous and they made mistakes.”

Where Reynolds really hurt the Falcons in the first half was 3-point shooting. The Raiders hit all five of their long-range shots in the first and second quarters, sparking a 15-2 run that put Coudy in a big early hole.

“They had one girl that made 3s and it wasn’t the girls that made them tonight,” Green said. “They kind of came back to reality in the second half, but fortunately for them they were hot to start the game and we were not.”

While the Falcons certainly weren’t themselves on offense, they had a few very unlucky bounces that could have easily been points.

“We got some of the shots we wanted, but they made us work for the shots we got,” Green said. “But we missed some point-blank shots, we missed some open 3-pointers. We just didn’t shoot well.”

A couple late baskets from Coudersport stopped the bleeding a bit, but the Falcons still went into halftime down 21-12.

Green surely had plenty to say to his team in the locker room. Whatever he said must have clicked, as the Falcons came out looking like a completely different team in the second half.

While the offense was still struggling, Coudy’s defense was markedly better, with an increased man-to-man press causing problems from the Raiders.

The Falcons got a bit of a spark on offense from EmmaRae Easton (who finished with a team-high 11 points). The senior drew contact on several occasions to help get Coudy more chances from the charity stripe, though that area of the game would prove to be a problem for both teams.

While the overall pace of the game was picking up in the third quarter, points were still coming at a premium, as the third quarter ended with Reynolds leading 26-23.

With under six minutes left in the game, Haley Keck (10 points) hit a pair of free throws to make the score 29-28 and give the Falcons their first lead since the start of the game.

A couple minutes later, Keck hit a 3-pointer that made it 32-31 Coudy. For a moment it looked like the momentum was about to swing the Falcons’ way. But Green’s squad wasn’t able to build on that slim advantage.

“I was proud of the way the kids battled back like the champions that they are,” he said. “The kids gutted it out, played hard, made it a ball game, took the lead. We just couldn’t maintain that lead.”

With the game turning into a free throw contest in the final minute, both sides were struggling from the charity stripe. The Falcons finished 11-for-19 from the line, while the Raiders went just 9-for-19.

Coudersport was able to get an offensive rebound off of one of their misses with less than 20 seconds to go, but another miss and a subsequent foul gave Reynolds the ball back.

“We took the lead there… and then fouled immediately, gave up a point,” Green said. “We missed the second one, we didn’t get the rebound, and then we fouled again. So as soon as we took the lead we committed about seven mistakes right in a row. At this level, you can’t do that.”

Reynolds made their final two shots to make it 38-35, giving the Falcons one last shot to send the game to overtime. But the final heave found only iron, and just like that, the Falcons’ season was over.

While obviously disappointed with the outcome, Green mentioned several times how proud he was of his team, and was particularly grateful to his seniors.

“Haley Keck has had a phenomenal career,” he said. “EmmaRae Easton had a big game down in Clarion against Kane that helped lead us to a (district) championship. Adrian Page has been a phenomenal defensive player for us all year.”

Green also noted the contributions of several players who will be back next year to seek a third straight D-9 title.

“Shaelyn Black… kind of came out of nowhere and had a fantastic year for us,” he said. “Sarah Chambers had a good year for us as a freshman. We got nice contributions off the bench late in the year from Rosalyn Page, Chelsey Streich and Lauren Stimaker.

“I had 14 kids that worked and improved all through the season. I’m proud of them for that effort.”

AT DUBOIS

Reynolds (38)

Taylor D’Urso 4 3-9 11, E. D’Urso 1 2-2 4, Cadman 3 0-0 8, Park 2 3-4 8, Cowan 0 1-2 1, Svirbly 2 0-2 6. Totals: 12 9-19 38

Coudersport (35)

Bowser 1 0-0 2, Plumstead 0 0-1 0, Chambers 0 2-2 2, Haley Keck 3 2-4 10, Black 3 0-0 6, Page 1 1-2 3, EmmaRae Easton 3 5-8 11, Page 0 1-2 1. Totals: 11 11-19 35

Reynolds 13 21 26 38

Coudy       6 12 23 35

Three-point goals: Reynolds 5 (Cadman 2, Park 1, Svirbly 2), Coudy 2 (Keck 2); Total fouls: Reynolds 17, Coudy 18; fouled out: none