Williams Valley lines up during the National Anthem prior to Friday's PIAA Class AA first-round game against Southern Columbia (Photo by Leroy Boyer).

TOWER CITY — For the first time all season, Williams Valley got into serious foul trouble.

It changed how the Vikings played defense.

It effected how Williams Valley ran its offense.

It gave Southern Columbia the momentum.

And it fueled a Tigers’ rally that ended the Vikings’ season.

Southern Columbia scored 14 of the game’s final 16 points to stun Williams Valley 38-37 on Friday in PIAA Class AA first-round game.

Macie Swank’s free throw with 12.6 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner as the District 4 runner-up Tigers (13-13) advanced to Tuesday’s second round against District 3 runner-up Shalom Christian, a 46-13 winner over District 12 champion MaST Charter II.

District 11 champion Williams Valley’s season ends at 18-7.

“We had half of our team with four fouls and we didn’t want to commit that fifth foul,” Williams Valley coach Shane Zellers said. “We didn’t want to play that physical style game that we had played all year long. I think that affected our total game.

“We missed a couple of open good looks that we had. Our foul trouble took us out of our offense because we wanted to run some clock to buy some time so we could get players back in and not be on the defensive end so much.

“Credit Southern Columbia. They put pressure on us. They were the aggressor. They caused us to come up with some fouls.”

Not a deep squad, Williams Valley played most of the season by utilizing just five players the entire game. Through their first 24 games, the Vikings’ depth wasn’t really tested.

For the first 15 minutes Friday, that continued. Williams Valley played an aggressive, physical zone defense, frustrating Southern Columbia leading scorer Kailee Helwig and holding her to just five points.

Offensively, the Vikings were patient against the Tigers’ full-court press, working the ball up the floor and either using quick passes to generate open looks or driving to the basket for points or foul shot opportunities.

Mallory Miller scored nine of her game-high 18 points in the second quarter as Williams Valley used a 9-0 run to build a 20-11 lead.

In the final minute of the first half, however, Ireland Kasper picked up her third foul. Four seconds later, she picked up her fourth foul.

Presley Shomper’s short jumper with 5 seconds left in the second frame gave Williams Valley a 22-13 halftime lead but trouble was brewing.

“At halftime, we said, ‘Ireland has four fouls, what do we do?’,” Zellers said. “We had a couple of options in our bag. We had the box-and-1 up our sleeve for (Marian’s Addy) Marek, so we had practiced it just in case we would need it.

“We thought that would be the best way to go. It turned out to be like a diamond, because we wanted to have some help rebounding. Once we put Ireland back in, we were confident we could go back to our 2-3.”

To open the third quarter, Zellers sat Kasper on the bench for the first four-plus minutes. The Vikings went to a box-and-1 defense on Helwig and their success continued.

A pair of driving buckets by Miller increased Williams Valley’s lead to 26-14. The Tigers went on a quick 5-0 run to make it 26-19, but Kasper returned. A 3-pointer by Miller and two triples by Kasper gave the Vikings a 35-24 lead after three quarters.

Williams Valley’s foul trouble, however, was getting serious.

Quin Smeltz picked up her fourth foul with 1:38 left in the third. Miller was whistled for her fourth foul with 6:39 left.

The Vikings’ fourth senior, Ella Kobularik, also started to pick up fouls. She eventually fouled out with 12.6 remaining.

“They really turned up their defense. They started pressing us,” Miller said of the fourth quarter. “You have to give it to them, their press really stumped us.

“Especially because we were in foul trouble, so it was really hard for us to foul and get the momentum stopped because four of us were in foul trouble.”

Williams Valley missed its first six shots of the fourth quarter and committed six turnovers. The Vikings went scoreless until the final minute as Southern Columbia rallied.

Helwig had seven of her 16 points in the spurt, tying the game on an offensive rebound and layup with 2:20 remaining. An uncontested layup by Bella Snyder capped a 13-0 run that put the Tigers up 37-35 with 1:46 left.

Miller re-tied the game at 37-37 on a short jumper with 24 seconds left. At the other end, Swank missed a jumper in the lane but was fouled.

With the Williams Valley student section, all glad in St. Patrick’s Day green, screaming and yelling and waving their arms directly in front of Swank, she missed both free throws. In a wild scramble for the rebound, Swank got knocked over and Kobularik was whistled for her fifth foul.

Swank missed the first free throw. She then made the second, giving Southern Columbia the lead.

Williams Valley had one more chance but couldn’t convert. The loss brought the end to the careers of the Vikings’ four seniors — Kasper, Kobularik, Miller, Smeltz — who each played key roles in Williams Valley’s run to back-to-back District 11 Class AA championships.

“It’s so sad. It’s always been the four of us,” said Miller, who scored her 1,000th career point earlier in the season. “It’s sad, but I’m so proud of our team.

“Our coaching staff has been amazing, they’ve got us here. I’m just so happy we made it this far. I’m so grateful.”

Zellers had nothing but praise for his seniors.

“Their careers aren’t defined by this one game. Their careers are defined by the last four years,” Zellers said. “Back-to-back district championships. What they’ve done on and off the court, in the classroom, in the hallways, in the community.

“Those four seniors, they’re amazing. I can’t thank them enough. They’re great kids.”

Game Summary

PIAA Class AA First Round

At Williams Valley HS

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (38) — Swank 2 2-6 6, Snyder 2 2-2 6, Reuter 0 0-0 0, Jones 4 2-4 10, Helwig 6 2-4 16, Leslie 0 0-0 0, Martino 0 0-2 0, Zsido 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 8-18 38.

WILLIAMS VALLEY (37) — Shomper 1 0-0 2, Kobularik 0 1-2 1, Miller 6 3-4 18, Smeltz 2 0-0 5, Kasper 4 0-0 11, Koppenhaver 0 0-0 0, Readinger 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 4-6 37.

3-point FGs: Helwig 2, Miller 3, Smeltz, Kasper 3

Officials: Whittington, Baumgardner, Rinaldi