PORT ALLEGANY — After a first half in which she didn’t make a field goal, it appeared as though the Clarion girls basketball team had contained Port Allegany’s Bree Garzel.
Garzel erupted for 18 second-half points, however, as she led the No. 4 Lady Gators past No. 5 Clarion, 45-39, in a District 9 Class A semifinal on Thursday.
The senior guard’s only two first-half points came on two free throws. And, while Clarion prevented Garzel from getting open shots in the second half, the Lady Bobcats couldn’t stop her from getting to the free-throw line. Garzel went 14-of-15 from the charity stripe in the game, including 7-of-8 in the fourth quarter.
“That’s a key to her game, is getting to the line,” Port A coach Jamie Evens said. “She likes to penetrate, and she’s a good outside shooter obviously, but Clarion had a great game plan and was really physical with her the first half.”
In addition to Garzel’s game-high 20 points, she pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and dished out two assists.
Clarion led 24-18 at halftime and controlled the game’s momentum to start the second half. An 11-0 third-quarter Lady Gators run, however, changed things.
Sophomore guard Evin Stauffer started the run with five points before Garzel and senior guard Gracie Archer knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers.
Clarion answered with five-consecutive points of its own, before Garzel was fouled on a 3-point shot and hit all three free throws.
“We didn’t really change anything, we just did what we were supposed to be doing in the first half,” Evens said. “Some of the game is mental, and we had a little talk at halftime about looking for the openings that were there on offense.”
In the fourth, Archer and Garzel each hit a triple to pace Port A’s offense.
Other than those two field goals from distance, Garzel’s timely free throws were the only offense the Lady Gators mustered in the fourth quarter. It proved to be all they would need, however, as Clarion struggled to a 9-of-20 mark from the free-throw line, including 3-of-7 in the final stanza.
“We hit some shots, and really that’s all it was,” Evens said. “We were getting good shots the whole game, they just started to fall finally. You make shots, it makes the game a whole lot easier.”
Archer finished with 12 points in the game, all of which came from her four made 3-point baskets. Stauffer was close behind with 11 points, as she hit three triples herself.
The Lady Gators only turned the ball over once in the second half after committing 11 first-half turnovers.
“We knew coming in that (Clarion) was a very physical team, and more athletic than us, so we knew that we needed to out-work them a little bit,” Evens said. “I thought we did that the second half.”
Erika Selfridge paced Clarion with 14 points, while Ava Cherico and Noel Anthony each scored eight points for the Lady Bobcats.
The Lady Gators advance to Saturday’s semifinals to play top-seeded Coudersport.
Port A avenged its loss to Clarion in last year’s quarterfinals, in which the Lady Gators were seeded third and the Lady Bobcats were seeded sixth.
Evens said that his team has been looking forward to a rematch with Coudersport after the Lady Falcons beat the Lady Gators, 33-28, in the regular season.
“It’s a good rivalry for us and they’ve got talented players,” Evens said. “We’ll work hard tomorrow. Luckily, we play them twice every year, so we know them well and they know us well, too. It’s really going to be who plays the best game, and hopefully that’s us.”
AT PORT ALLEGANY
Clarion (39)
Simko 1 0-0 2, Best 2 1-6 6, Anthony 2 3-4 8, Erika Selfridge 5 4-8 14, Cherico 3 0-0 8, Ketner 0 1-2 1. Totals: 13 9-20 39
Port Allegany (45)
Gracie Archer 4 0-0 12, Evin Stauffer 5 0-0 11, Bree Garzel 2 14-15 20, Budd 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 14-15 45
Clarion 11 24 32 39
Port A 8 18 32 45
Three-point goals: Clarion 4 (Cherico 2, Best, Anthony), Port A 9 (Archer 4, Stauffer 3, Garzel 2); Total fouls: Clarion 17, Port A 15; fouled out: Budd (Port A).
