COAL TOWNSHIP - No matter if the game is played with a pointed ball or a round ball - of any size - there is the potential for any matchup of teams from Mount Carmel Area and Southern Columbia to be a classic.
While neither the girls from Mount Carmel nor those from Southern would characterize their performance in Friday night's District 4 Class AA basketball quarterfinal at Shamokin High as classic, their aggressive style of play made for a memorable game. And, for the second time this season, the memories of playing Southern will be more pleasant for the Red Tornadoes, whose 54-47 victory advances them to next week's semifinal round against the winner of today's Towanda-Wellsboro game.
Although Heartland Conference II champion Mount Carmel (20-3) took the lead for good at 28-25 early in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Kim Andruscavage, the Heartland Conference III champion Tigers (17-7) kept the game close behind a strong inside game by Jordan Marks (14 points, eight rebounds) and reserve Katie Fink (14 points, 11 rebounds). Determined to get revenge for a 59-55 loss to the Tornadoes in the consolation game of the Knights of Columbus Tournament, Southern managed to remain within striking distance with two minutes remaining, but was unable to con-
tain Andruscavage, who scored six of her 15 points in the fourth quarter.
In addition to the game-high performance by Andruscavage, the Tornadoes also got double-figures from Danielle Bernini (12) and Ranotta Ahrensfield (10), who both scored eight points in the second half. That balance helped overcome the loss of point guard Heather Bolick, who scored nine points before fouling out with 6:44 remaining.
"We wanted to stay aggressive and keep going to the basket," Andruscavage said. "Without our point guard, I had to help bring the ball up, but also kept looking for my shot.
"I really don't think it mattered that we had played them at Christmas. This was different and we all wanted to make sure things worked out in the end."
Back-to-back buckets by Andruscavage - the first on an in-bounds play, the other on a floater in the lane - in the final minute kept the Tornadoes in control. Their seven-point final margin equalled their largest lead in a game that had six lead changes and seven ties.
Playing with the confidence befitting a team that came into the game with a 10-game winning streak, the Tigers jumped out to an 8-3 lead. They had opportunities to expand the lead, but hurt themselves with seven turnovers while Bolick scored seven points in the quarter to pace Mount Carmel to a 12-11 lead.
Failing to protect the ball cost Southern in the third quarter, with 10 of its 27 turnovers, and the Tornadoes broke away from a 23-23 halftime tie with a 14-7 advantage to lead 37-30 going into the fourth quarter. Twice in the fourth quarter the Tigers cut the lead to four points and had the ball, but both times Mount Carmel made a key defensive stand.
"Once we got the lead, we wanted to stay aggressive because sometimes holding the ball can backfire," Mount Carmel coach Lisa Varano said. "It hurt losing Heather because she's such a big part of our game, but we got some solid contributions off the bench and had some players step up.
"Kim has really developed her game and came through for us tonight. She knew when to shoot and when not to shoot, and tonight her shots were there."
Southern coach JoEllen Gallinot agreed, even with the Tigers offensive problems caused by turnovers and some forced shots, that not being able to contain Andruscavage was key. Because even with the problems, Southern got a solid, all-around effort.
"There was a lot of emotion, and we played hard," Gallinot said. "We couldn't overcome those turnovers, but Katie came in and gave us a big effort breaking the press, and tonight, she was our MVP."
So, while Southern can rightfully remember its strong effort, the best memories will belong to the Tornoades.
Game Summary
SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (47) - Mowrey 1 0-0 3, Oley 3 3-4 9, Fraley 1 0-2 2, Marks 5 2-3 14, J. Fink 2 1-2 5, Blass 0 0-0 0, Tomaschik 0 0-3 0, K. Fink 3 8-9 14. Totals 15 14-23 47.
MOUNT CARMEL (54) - Bolick 4 0-0 9, Sinopoli 1 2-2 4, Bernini 5 2-2 12, Ahrensfield 1 8-13 10, Andruscavage 6 1-3 15, Demko 1 0-0 2, Palewicz 1 0-1 2, Varano 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 13-21 54.
S. Columbia (17-7) 11 12 7 17 - 47
Mt. Carmel (20-3) 12 11 14 17 - 54
3-point FGs: Marks 2, Mowrey; Andruscavage 2, Bolick.