MOUNT CARMEL - After the first 30 seconds of the game, when it trailed 4-0, there wasn't anything Mount Carmel didn't do well against South Williamsport.
That includes defending Tierney Pfirman, who the Red Tornadoes held to seven points in their 69-46 Heartland Conference Division II win.
The victory gave the Tornadoes the early inside track for their second straight division title, but more importantly it was the 11th win (in 11 tries) and secured a playoff spot.
In her 30 minutes on the floor, there wasn't a step Pfirman took when the Mounties had the ball that there wasn't a Tornado, or two, in tow.
"We were trying to keep fresh legs on her and just keep pressure on her," Mount Carmel head coach Lisa Varano said. "We knew she would score, but we held her to seven points."
It was the first time Pfirman has been held to single digits since her freshman year, and it came less than a week after she scored 38 against a very good Warrior Run team.
"She's a tremendous player," Varano said, "so that's a credit to the girls."
And the Mount Carmel girls really do deserve all the credit.
Overall, the Tornadoes were faster, more aggressive and tenacious, as evidenced by a single possession in the second quarter when Mount Carmel had eight offensive rebounds.
The key, however, for the Tornadoes was their defense.
Mount Carmel forced 23 total turnovers, and most of them immediately resulted in points.
It's how the Red Tornadoes battled back and turned that initial 4-0 deficit into a 26-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
"I think the press rattled them," Varano said. "They were throwing the ball away a lot and we had a couple steals and were able to jump on them."
The most obvious recipient of the defense's pressure was Ali Varano, who scored 20 points, she was able to outrace the Mounties to basket with ease.
Also having a big night was 1,000-point scorer Kim Andruscavage. She finished with 21 and went 8-of-9 from the foul line to lead a Tornadoes' team that went 18-of-23 from the stripe.
Kayla Shamus, the Tornadoes' No. 23, outscored the Mounties No. 23 (Pfirman) by three, notching 10 points on a lot of backdoor cuts.
"Kayla did a really nice job coming in," Varano said.
South Williamsport (10-2) did manage to close to within 10 of the Tornadoes in the third quarter, but only because Mount Carmel was settling for a lot of low-percentage shots from outside.
Once Mount Carmel pushed the ball inside, the lead immediately ballooned.
The Mounties get to return the favor and host the Tornadoes on Feb. 7.
(Dan MacArthur is the former Dan Burda, a sports writer at The News-Item for the past 4½ years who recently had his last name legally changed.)
Game Summary
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT (46) - Laird 0 1-2 1, Green 0 0-0 0, Noviello 1 0-0 2, Pfirman 2 2-3 7, Jackson 0 0-1 0, March 1 0-0 2, Weir 1 0-1 2, Steer 12 0-1 24. Totals 21 3-8 46.
MOUNT CARMEL (69) - Bolick 2 0-0 4, Kuzo 1 0-0 2, Hornung 0 2-2 2, Varano 9 2-3 20, Turlis 0 0-0 0, Buggy 0 0-0 0, Shamus 3 4-4 10, Nestico 0 0-0 0, Raybuck 1 0-0 2, Ahrensfield 3 2-5 8, Andruscavage 6 8-9 21. Totals 25 18-23 69.
S. Williamsport 9 16 11 10 - 46
Mount Carmel 26 16 13 14 - 69
3-point FGs: Andruscavage.