Homer City - Homer-Center student fans watched HomerDome wearing their most comfortable pajamas, but the Wildcats were never caught sleeping in a 50-18 pummeling of Burgetstown in the first round of the PIAA girls' basketball playoffs.
"It feels great to get it first," said Homer-Center senior Marlee Coachman. "It provides a lot of momentum in the next game. It helps us gain confidence."
Homer-center (24-4) made the game 6-1 at 5:58 in the first quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers from Coachman and Messi Sardone.
Two foul shots by Caitlin Nice of the Blue Devils and two baskets by Eddie Cairns made it a points game at 8-7 with 2:10 and again made it 10-9 with two more successful free throw attempts by Nice Gave. 1:03 am.
The first period of 12-9 ended with a layoff by the coachman, but the Wildcats were not happy with their game in the opening eight minutes.
"It was a little high-speed to start with," Coachman said. "We needed to calm down, and we did. We started playing our game in seconds and with it came dramas.
Homer-center held off Burgetstown (18-6) by four points in the 26-4 second quarter. The Wildcats started with an 11-0 run that began with a 3-pointer by Ayannah Elliott and ended with Coachman 3.
Homer-center ended the quarter with a 13–0 run, nine points from Sardon. The junior shooting guard had 12 points in second and five steals, including back-to-back steals that led to a bucket and a 38-13 halftime advantage.
"It took us a while to get started," said homer-center coach Nick Moore. "We didn't commit to the trap on our press. Once I pushed them a little with a few threats against play time, it changed everything. They really took it up a couple of notches and really Responded. I can't say enough about the efforts in that second quarter and beyond."
For the second straight game, the homer-center held off his opponent by two points in the third quarter.
"The coach has been teaching us all year round how to play defensively," Sardon said. “They said that we want to go a long way, we have to play well both defensively and offensively. The goal is always to go out there and do some drama for yourself and your teammates."
Nice netted his fifth and sixth free throws for the Blue Devils at 6:49 and 6:20, while Sardon's basket made the score 46-15 at 4:43 and started the running clock as part of the mercy rule. Gave.
Moore said, "At halftime, I told them let's get them to 30, let's start our stall, finish this thing and get ready for Friday."
The 10-2 third quarter put the Wildcats 48-15 up, allowing homer-center to test his patience in the final eight minutes as Moore put his players into stall mode to maintain his massive lead. set.
"It feels really cool, and it's something we want to work on going forward," Sardone said. "We know the teams will be really good and really fast, so we have to learn to take care of the ball whenever we're up."
Only two field goals were scored by Burgetstown in the 3-2 fourth quarter, and both came within the final two minutes. Ann Cutshall had a field goal with 1:27 remaining in the game and Blue Devils' Christini Bartley scored 3 runs on the buzzer for the final score of 50–18.
For back-to-back games, Sardon led the Wildcats with 17 points, eight steals and seven rebounds.
"She was on that floor," said Moore. "She was back and forth and mixing things up. It's a lot of fun to watch."
Coachman followed with 12 points, with 10 coming in the first half. The senior guard also added three thefts.
"My teammates did a really great job at penetrating so that I could open out," the coachman said. “I give credit to him and the energy of the crowd. It's going to me."
Molly Kosmack grabbed five boards and went 4-for-4 for eight points down the line en route, while Elliot scored seven on three field goals.
"They come every night to play," said Moore. "Massie and Molly and Marley show up every night. But so are Elliot and Cutshall, who kept their leading scorers tonight at 0 points. Ashlyn Kerr and Alaina Fabin came in and fought with No. 41. Justley Sharp came in. Great game. They all got bought into this team effort. All these girls come every night and give us their all and that's all I can ask for."
Burgettstown's Nease, a 6-foot sophomore, went 6-for-8 from the line to lead his team to six points.
Homer-center now faces another WPIAL team, Serra Catholic (21-2), in Round 2 on Friday in a neutral venue. Serra Catholic, third-placed team from WPIAL, beat Clarion-Limestone 52-37 in their opener.
"Shout out to the community," said Sardone. "So many people showed up. The energy was amazing. We just want to show everyone in the state who we are and tell them we haven't done the work yet."