HS Girls’ Basketball: Pine Grove’s late rally stuns Tamaqua
Pine Grove's Hollyn Sampson is double teamed by Tamaqua's Kendle Miller, left, and Lauren Ligenza during Tuesday's Schuylkill League Division I game at Pine Grove (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
Cards score game’s final seven points to win 43-39
PINE GROVE — Callee Leffler wasn’t listed among Pine Grove’s starting five for Tuesday’s Schuylkill League Division I clash with Tamaqua.
The senior standout was definitely there at the end.
She may bat lead-off for the Cards’ softball team, but she was the closer for the girls’ basketball squad Tuesday.
Leffler scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter, including the game’s final four points, as the Cardinals captured a come-from-behind, 43-39 win over the Blue Raiders.
The victory keeps Pine Grove (4-2, 3-1 D-I) on the heels of North Schuylkill and Schuylkill Haven in the Division I race while ending Tamaqua’s four-game win streak.
“Callee has been battling injury a little bit but ended up being ready to go,” Pine Grove coach Allison Rizzo said. “So I went with the lineup we were game planning with because the girls were ready. Callee was limited (on her playing time) to see how it went for her.
“She’s a leader. She plays hard, gives 100 percent regardless of what is going on.”
Leffler said she was diagnosed with bursitis in her left hip. She went through some rehab and recovery over the past couple of days and was cleared to play Tuesday.
She didn’t start but entered about midway through the first quarter. The injury didn’t tame her aggressive play as she dished out two assists, scored on an offensive rebound and picked up three fouls while playing on and off during the first half.
“I needed to push through for my team,” Leffler said. “The limited play was fine. I just knew I had to do what was best for my team today.”
Pine Grove dressed just seven players as junior guard/forward Meadow Umbenhauer is out with an injury. Tamaqua was also short-handed as senior forward Leah Black sat out due to injury.
The game went back and forth through the first three frames. Hollyn Sampson had seven of her 13 points in the first half as Pine Grove took an 18-16 halftime lead.
Tamaqua (5-3, 2-2) answered in the third quarter behind Lauren Ligenza, who finished with a game-high 19 points. She had six of her points in the third period, pushing the Blue Raiders out to a 29-25 advantage entering the fourth.
The Blue Raiders’ lead stretched to six at 35-29 before Pine Grove started to rally. A 3-pointer by Lainey Fidler sliced the deficit to 37-36 with 3:25 left, but a putback by Ligenza with 1:57 remaining gave Tamaqua a 39-36 lead.
After advancing the ball into the frontcourt, Rizzo called timeout to set up a play. It worked.
Running a set play through Leffler for Fidler on the wing, Fidler drained the game-tying 3-pointer with 1:40 left.
When Leffler came up with a steal on Tamaqua’s next possession and drove in for a layup, the Cardinals had the lead for good at 41-39 with 1:22 left.
“It’s huge,” Rizzo said of Fidler’s 3-pointer. “She came up big in a couple points in the game. She was missing at the start and was down on herself but I just told her to keep slinging. She’s a shooter and she came up big when it counted.”
Pine Grove is at its best when Leffler is running the show from the point, Fidler is hitting 3-pointers and Sampson is controlling the paint.
That was the case Tuesday as Fidler finished with four 3-pointers and a team-high 14 points while Sampson had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
“She has a lot of confidence in her shot … she needs to continue to have confidence in her shot,” Leffler said of Fidler. “For her to come up big is huge for us and big for our team today.
“My role on the team is to control the floor, to create opportunities for my team to score. That’s what I did today.”
Tamaqua had two chances to tie it or regain the lead.
After Leffler’s layup, the Blue Raiders missed two short shots from in the paint, with Sampson clearing the boards. Tamaqua was then forced to foul, sending Leffler to the line with 29.1 left.
Leffler hit 1-of-2, giving the Blue Raiders some life. The Cardinals played great defense on the ensuing possession, forcing a 3-pointer that was short.
Leffler was fouled again, hitting 1-of-2 to ice it.
“It’s a huge win,” Rizzo said. “For a Division I victory, this is huge. This feels good … a little bit of a steppingstone to where we want to get to and where we’re going.”
Added Leffler: “It’s a huge win for our team. We really came together for this game and played for each other. That’s the biggest thing.
“We’re going to fight for 32 minutes. Whatever it takes for 32 minutes, that’s what gets it done.”
Game Summary
TAMAQUA (39) — M. Black 2 0-0 4, Ellington 1 0-0 2, Ligenza 9 1-2 19, Miller 4 0-0 10, Gormley 2 0-0 4, Osenbach 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 1-2 39.
PINE GROVE (43) — K. Umbenhauer 3 0-0 6, Heming 0 0-0 0, Reichert 0 0-0 0, Fidler 5 0-0 14, Sampson 6 1-2 13, Leffler 4 2-4 10. Totals 18 3-6 43.
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
| Tam (5-3, 2-2) | 7 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 39 |
| PG (4-2, 3-1) | 11 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 43 |
