SAXONBURG— Abby Marshall had to watch her former team defeat her current team Thursday night at Mars.

The would-be Planets senior moved into the South Butler School District this school year and joined the Knoch girls basketball squad.

"I felt bad for her,"Knoch coach Curt Vasas said of Thursday's loss. "That had to be difficult for her to go through."

It's OK, though. Marshall made up for it Saturday, scoring 15 of her 17 points in the second half as the Knights outlasted Hampton, 55-48, on their own Senior Night.

The victory handed Knoch (16-6, 10-4) sole possession of third place in Section 1-AAA.

"I hope this helps our seeding for the playoffs, but you never know about things like that,"Vasas said. "You don't know how the (selection committee) is thinking."

Knoch held a 25-23 edge at halftime Saturday before Marshall sank treys on consecutive possessions early in the third quarter to give her team a 34-27 lead.

Hampton (12-11, 9-5) responded with a 10-0 run, which included two lay-ups and three free throws by 6-foot-1 junior Jodie Luther. The Talbots took a 37-35 lead into the final quarter.

"Our game is to get the ball inside to our big girls and let them take over,"Hampton coach Mary Bukovac said. "At times, we forget that."

The fourth quarter might have been one of those times.

Knoch scored the first eight points of the final period and never trailed again. Marshall completed a three-point play 39 seconds into the quarter. Lizz King sank a free throw, Megan Gray sank a pair and scored a fast-break lay-up off transition.

The Knights' lead peaked at 47-39 when Pam Gagen scored a lay-up with 4:32 remaining.

Gagen had 14 points and King 12 to complement Marshall's 17.

"All three of those girls had outstanding games,"Vasas said. "Abby's addition enabled a lot of other girls to settle into roles they were comfortable with.

"Abby is such an unselfish player. When she first showed up at practice, she told me she was gonna give me everything she had. She was so sincere about it ... There was never any problem."

Luther had 17 points and eight rebounds while 6-1 sophomore Laurel Hansen had nine points and 12 boards. Those two girls combined for only three points — all on free throws — in the final quarter.

"We just stopped going inside. I don't know why," Bukovac said.

The Talbots held a 36-24 rebounding edge. C.J. Graham netted 13 points for Hampton.

The score was tied seven times in the first three quarters before Knoch pulled away in the fourth. The Knights sank 14 of 15 free throws — including their final 12 — in the final quarter.

Sarah Cooper paced Knoch with five rebounds. Marshall, King, Cooper, Gagen, Ashley Cetnar and Anita Hartzel were honored before the game. King was the only senior to not be in the starting lineup.

"For these girls to end their home season with a clutch win like this is nice,"Vasas said. "This is my fourth year and this senior class has been with me through all of them.

"This is their third trip to the playoffs in four years. That's pretty special."

HAMPTON 48Alex Dibucci 1-3 0-0 2, C.J. Graham 5-11 1-3 13, Laurel Hanson 4-10 1-2 9, Erin Szurszeski 1-7 0-0 2, Jodie Luther 4-16 9-10 17, Christine Newby 0-1 1-2 1, Breanne Goodman 0-2 2-2 2, Mallory Schaffer 1-2 0-0 2.

Totals: 16-52 14-20 48

KNOCH 55Megan Gray 3-3 2-4 8, Haley Hutterer 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Marshall 4-9 7-9 17, Pam Gagen 4-6 6-6 14, Ashley Centnar 0-0 0-0 0, Kristey Gagen 0-2 0-0 0, Sara Montgomery 0-1 0-0 0, Sarah Cooper 1-4 2-2 4, Lizz King 3-9 5-6 12.

Totals: 15-34 22-27 55

Hampton 8 15 14 11—48Knoch 12 13 10 20—553-point goals: Graham 2; Marshall 2, King

JV: None

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