CLARION - Bethany Koch's 3-pointer put Clarion down.

Her last-second block put the Bobcats out.

Union's junior forward drained a 3-point goal with 3:17 left in the game that gave the Damsels a 40-37 lead.

With her team clinging to a two-point advantage with 1.9 seconds to go, Koch blocked Kelley Moore's shot underneath Clarion's basket to preserve the 44-42 District 9 Class A girls basketball semifinal win Monday at Clarion University's Tippin Gymnasium.

"I got a piece of the ball, but not as much as people are giving me credit for," Koch said.

Union had possession and the 44-42 lead with seven seconds remaining, but Clarion's Danielle Hughes intercepted the Damsels' inbounds pass. A struggle for the ball ensued before a jump ball was called, giving possession to the Bobcats with just under two seconds remaining.

It was only the third time this season that Union won by five points or fewer. The team won 11 victories by at least 30 points each.

"It was very tight late in the game," said Union coach Josh Meeker. "That's a situation we're not used to being in and I was concerned with how we would respond, but I thought we did well."

Before she could seal the win on defense, Koch had to drag her team out of a third-quarter slump that saw the Damsels score just two points and no field goals.

Leading 29-24 at halftime, Union entered the final period trailing 32-31.

Koch scored seven points in the quarter, including her trifecta that put Union ahead to stay.

She ended the game as the Damsels' high scorer with 11 points.

"Her play tonight was huge," Meeker said. "It's the kind of play I expect out of her and she delivered."

Hughes and Vanessa Anderson each scored 11 points to pace Clarion.

"Our girls did everything I asked of them tonight," said Bobcats coach Roger Walter.

Clarion took Union out of its game for the entire third period as the Damsels committed five turnovers and missed all six of their field goal attempts in the frame.

"Once you make them play a half-court game, you can force them into taking bad shots," said Walter. "And, offensively, I felt we got some good shots from our half-court set."

"I told the girls at halftime that they needed to be aggressive on offense, but I guess they didn't listen to me," Meeker said, laughing.

The Damsels (24-2) will face Elk County Catholic for the district championship at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the same venue.

Clarion controlled the boards for most of the night, ending with a 22-14 advantage.

"What I was disappointed with was our defensive rebounding in the first half," said Meeker. "A lot of (Clarion's) points were garbage points off of put backs."

It was the third time this season that Clarion (22-5) lost to the Damsels.

"We knew that it was going to be a tough game, but we were also confident in ourselves," said Koch.

CLARION 42

Jen Hagen 1 1-2 3, Danielle Hughes 4 0-0 11, Meghan Glenn 4 0-0 8, Kelley Moore 1 3-6 5, Jamie Hagen 1 2-2 4, Vanessa Anderson 5 1-3 11, Brittany Kapp 0 0-0 0, Cassie Rathfon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 7-13 42.

UNION 44

Tiffany Corle 2 0-0 4, Andrea Mortimer 3 1-1 7, Janele Divins 3 0-0 7, Bethany Koch 5 0-0 11, Nikki Davis 3 2-2 8, Molly Scott 1 2-2 4, Mackenzie Shirey 1 1-2 3, Kayla Hepler 0 0-0 0, Courtney Horner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 6-7 44.

3-point goals:

Hughes 3; Divins, Koch.

Wednesday:

Union vs. Elk County Catholic, District 9 Class A title game @ Clarion University, 6:30 p.m.

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