CLARION — Trailing by one point with the ball and nine seconds left in the game — A-C Valley girls basketball coach Dave Sherman will take those odds any day of the week.

But the tide quickly turned against the Falcons.

Following a timeout, A-C Valley set up an inbound play to the right of the basket. The Falcons attempted to get the ball inside to senior forward Ellie Thompson, but North Clarion stole the ball before Tori Obenrader hit two free throws at the other end.

The Falcons' desperation 3-point attempt, taken shy of midcourt, fell well short in a 52-49 loss to the Wolves in the District 9 Class A championship game Saturday afternoon at Clarion University's Tippin Gymnasium.

“What we did on offense (following the timeout) was going to depend on what defense they played,” said Sherman. “They came out in a zone and Ellie posted up, but we just couldn't get the ball into her.”

It marked the third time this season that North Clarion defeated the Falcons, following a 43-34 final in the regular season and a 54-49 result in the KSAC title game last month.

It is the second straight district title for North Clarion (26-0).

“I'm not surprised at all that this one came down to the end,” said Wolves' coach Terry Dreihaup. “I knew it was going to be a fight from the get-go.

“Free throws win games and fortunately, Tori made two clutch ones there at the end. Our girls persevered today.”

A-C Valley (20-6) managed two crucial runs during the game. The second began with it facing a 48-39 deficit and 3:30 left in the game. The Falcons answered with a 10-2 run, with the final two points coming from Thompson on a putback with 25 seconds remaining that sliced North Clarion's lead to 50-49.

The first rally came after the Wolves held a 32-18 lead at halftime. North Clarion had committed just a single turnover in the first half, but A-C Valley's swarming defense forced the Wolves into six turnovers in the third quarter, aiding a 21-7 onslaught that extended into the final period.

“We just switched to a full-court man, turned up the heat on 'em a little bit and that made a big difference,” said Sherman.

Annie Viertel scored five points in a span of 15 seconds during the run. Thompson banked in a trey at the end of the third quarter, then sank a basket that tied the game at 39 with 6:16 left in the game.

“We told our girls at halftime that they (Falcons) would come back and they did, with a vengeance,” Dreihaup said.

Obenrader, a senior forward, scored 26 points and had 14 rebounds in the game.

“We knew we needed to deal with Tori,” Sherman said. “In the first half, they were getting a lot of second-chance opportunities because of her rebounding. She was getting after it inside, but I thought we did a much better job in the second half.”

Thompson led the Falcons with 18 points and added nine rebounds. Kylee Eaton pulled down 10 boards to go with six points.

Abby Gatesman tallied 10 points for the Wolves.

A-C Valley endured some rough years, with the doldrums coming just over a decade ago when the Falcons were struggling to score double digits in games. Now they are headed to the state playoffs for the second straight year.

“The credit goes to the girls,” said Sherman. “I just show them some Xs and Os and try not to screw things up.”

A-C VALLEY 49

Cami McNany 2 0-1 5, Ellie Thompson 6 5-5 18, Allie Sherman 3 0-0 6, Annie Viertel 3 0-0 8, Brooke Irwin 3 0-0 6, Kylee Eaton 2 2-4 6, Emma Fox 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 7-10 49.

NORTH CLARION 52

Mackenzie Bauer 0 1-6 1, Cierah Manross 3 1-1 7, Gabby Carll 2 1-4 5, Abby Gatesman 4 1-2 10, Tori Obenrader 10 4-5 26, Haley Sherman 1 1-1 3, Gabby Schmader 0 0-1 0. Totals: 20 9-20 52.

A-C Valley 8 10 19 12 — 49

North Clarion17 15 7 13 — 52

3-point goals: A-C Valley 4 (Viertel 2, Thompson, McNany); North Clarion

Saturday: A-C Valley vs. Sewickley Academy, PIAA Class A, 4 p.m. at Keystone