Written by Nate Ritchie
nritchey@altoonamirror.com
PORTAGE — Every year, players graduate from Portage and new players join the returnees.
One of the constants of Lady Mustang basketball is the relentless full-court pressure they apply.
On Friday night, the opening night of the Art Burkett Memorial Tournament, Penn Cambria took a ton of that beating when Portage used its press to revitalize its offense and cruise to a 58-30 victory.
The Mustangs will play Central Cambria, which beat Somerset 68-23 in the season opener, in the championship tonight at 7:30 p.m.
“Our press is what it is, it’s our bread and butter,” Portage coach Lance Hudak said.
The Lady Panthers and Lady Eagles will tip off in a repechage game at 6 p.m.
Portage forced 39 turnovers in the game, including 14 in the first quarter.
Trailing by four points from Jenna Burkett, the Lady Mustangs took a 5-0 lead before PC’s Addie Hite ended five consecutive turnovers with a transition layup.
Portage responded with nine unanswered shots and Peyton Noll hit a 3-pointer to start the spurt and take a 14-2 lead.
The Mustangs’ Britton Meyer made a layup at the buzzer, giving his team a 17-6 lead after one game.
“They (Portage) are starting five seniors, and they look like five seniors,” Penn Cambria coach Josh Himer said. “They know what they do, they rotate very well and they let us play fast. That’s a lot of respect for them.”
Portage increased its lead to 26-8 midway through the second quarter as Jenna Burkett led a 9-2 run with five points.
Six more turnovers didn’t help the Lady Panthers, and at that point in the game, whether they were there or not, they were getting hit by Penn Cambria with a lot of quick shots and Portage was laying the foundation. So was the fact that
The missed opportunities were a result of the Lady Mustangs forcing the game to play at their own pace, which was as much a factor as the actual turnovers.
“We’re a very fast, very athletic group,” Hudak said. “I always stress this to my girls: It’s not always about steals, it’s not always about tipped balls, it’s about tempo. It’s about getting the team to play at the speed we want them to play. ) couldn’t run the ball and set up a half-court offense. We’re making the most of the speed and skill we have.”
PC scored four more points in the second and took a 28-12 lead into the half.
A baseline jumper by Hite, a bucket by Jenna Burkett and a layup by PC’s Kaylee Harpster cut the gap to 14 (30-16) and was the closest the Lady Panthers came to winning the rest of the night.
“We play in Laurel Highlands, which may be the toughest conference around here, in my opinion,” Himer said. “You’re going to see that level of competition every night (like Portage). So it’s great for our girls to know that right away. … 15 girls tonight We played with them, so hopefully we can grow from there and get a little better.”
Alex Chobany scored the Mustangs’ first nine points in Portage’s 11-2 spurt to extend the lead to 41-18 before the Lady Panthers’ Isabel Andersen ended the run with a bucket.
After Portage took a 45-20 advantage, four turnovers by the Mustangs and a basket by the Harpster ended the third quarter with a score of 45-24.
Portage finished the game with a 13-8 lead in the fourth, clinching a spot in the finals.
“We drove the ball and scored with Alex and Kami (Burkett). Jenna scored in a lot of different ways for us tonight,” Hudak said. “I really liked the contribution of our juniors. Yes, the fifth-year (starters). … It’s these underclassmen that we need to contribute. We didn’t see people getting tired tonight or getting in a lot of trouble. They did it for us when we were there, and it was great.”
In the opening game, Central Cambria’s Abigail Sheehan hit three 3-pointers and totaled 19 points to lead the Lady Red Devils to victory.
Somerset University, which trailed 37-15 in the first half, was led by Eve Housley’s 13 points.
Pen Cambria (30): Ronan 1 0-1 2, Height 3 0-1 6, Harpster 2 0-0 4, Vinglish 0 0-2 0, Weisinger 0 0-0 0, Labaton 0 0-0. 0, McCoy 0 0-0 0, Lemaster 1 1-2 3, Saleme 1 0-1 2, Shoemaker 0 0-2 0, Anderson 5 1-2 11, McConnell 0 0-0 0, Deck 0 0- 0 0, Baney 0 0 -0 0, Andersen 0 0-0 0. Total: 14 2-11 30.
Portage (58): Hudak 0 0-0 0, Chobany 7 1-1 15, C. Burkett 5 3-6 13, B. Bednarski 0 0-0 0, J. Burkett 6 2-3 14, Nord 1 1- 2 4, Bagby 2 0-0 4, Maihar 3 0-1 6, C. Burkett 0 0-2 0, K. Bednarski 1 0-0 2, Stankovic 0 0-0 0, Offman 0 0-0 0, B . Burkett 0 0-0 0, Irvin 0 0-0 0. Total: 25 7-15 58.
Score per quarter
Penn Cambria 6 6 10 8 – 30
Portage 17 11 17 13 – 58
3-point field goal: Penn Cambria None. Portage 1 (Noll).
Records: Penn Cambria (0-1) at Portage (1-0).
Somerset (23): Li. Holmes 0 0-0 0, Re. Holmes 0 0-2 0, Housley 6 1-5 13, Baumgardner 0 0-0 0, Stanton 2 0-0 6, Sanders 1 0-0 2, Fletcher 1 0- 0 2, Boozer 0 0-0 0, Martin 0 0-0 0, Rothman 0 0-0 0. Total: 10 1-5 23.
Cambria Central (68): Al. Sheehan 3 0-0 9, Ab. Sheehan 8 0-0 19, Lockard 2 1-2 7, Barra 3 0-0 7, A. Rudek 3 1-4 7, Kudrawiec 0 0-0 0, Long 2 0-2 4, Duman 0 0-0 0, Link 2 2-4 8, George 2 0-0 5, Benko 0 0-0 0, R. Radek 0 0-0 0, Kasecky 0 0-0 0. Total: 26 4-12 68.
Score per quarter
Somerset 6 9 2 6 — 23
Central Cumbria 16 21 22 9 — 68
3-Point Field Goal: Somerset 2 (Stanton 2). Central Cumbria 10 (Al. Sheehan 3, Ab. Sheehan 3, Lockard 2, Barra, George).
Records: Somerset (0-1); Central Cumbria (1-0).