Nipped At The Wire
BUTLER TWP — With 22 seconds left and her team leading by a scant point, Mohawk junior Paige Julian missed the front end of a critical one-and-one.
She more than made up for it.
Julian blocked Makenna Maier's driving lay-up attempt, then hit two free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining to preserve the Warriors' 50-47 girls basketball win over Butler in the Butler Christmas Tournament girls basketball title game Saturday night.
“I've always felt players win close games and coaches lose them,” Butler coach Mark Maier said. “I'll be beating myself up over this one.
“It felt like we were a possession, one or two points behind that whole fourth quarter.”
The lead changed hands eight times in the game and the biggest lead by either team was seven. Mohawk had a 16-9 lead in the first quarter before the Golden Tornado used an 8-0 run to secure their first lead of the contest.
From there, it was nip and tuck.
Neither team ever led by more than four in the second half.
“Win or lose, we needed a competitive game like this after the way Friday went,” said Mohawk coach Mike O'Lare, a 1996 Knoch graduate. “I think both teams did.”
Butler defeated West Allegheny 62-17 in the tourney's first round Friday while Mohawk hammered Greensburg Central Catholic, 83-43.
The Tornado's last lead Saturday occurred with 4:22 left in the game as Emma Monteleone drained a trey for a 44-43 edge. Nadia Lape responded with a trey of her own for Mohawk (8-1) just 12 seconds later to give the Warriors the lead they never lost.
Lape added a pair of free throws with 44.9 seconds left, but Jordan Kauffman's third trey of the game cut the gap to 48-47 with 24.5 seconds to play.
Julian's missed one-and-one gave the Tornado (5-3) a chance.
“We had the ball down by a point,” Maier said. “We were looking for an open three or a drive to the hoop for a lay-up and possible foul.
“Their girl (Julian) made a nice defensive play for them to get a hand on Makenna's shot.”
Makenna Maier nearly forced overtime after Julian made her final two free throws. Her shot at the buzzer — taken from a step inside the mid-court line — bounced off the glass, then off the front of the rim.
“She got a clean look and almost hit that,” Coach Maier said.
Mohawk played without senior guard and leading scorer Karly McCutcheon, who missed the tournament with a hyperextended elbow.“This was a nice win for us,” O'Lare said. “We played in this tournament last year and lost two games that weren't even close. This year, we came back and won both games.“Nadia has picked up her scoring big-time with Karly not playing. She's been a real leader for us.”Lape led the Warriors with 23 points and seven rebounds. Julian had 12 points and seven boards, Heather McDanel 10 points. Jordan Radzmynski, a sophomore, had eight rebounds and three assists.“We had to sit Paige for the second quarter because of foul trouble,” O'Lare said. “It was good to see her come up big in the end.“I feel like we've got a shot to win (WPIAL Class 3A) this year. We've been a consistent playoff team, but haven't been able to break through.”O'Lare has been coaching Mohawk for 15 years. Before a 7-16 season last year, the Warriors won at least 16 games in seven successive seasons, including a WPIAL semifinal appearance two years ago.Sarayne Forbes led Butler with 15 points, adding six rebounds. Kauffman had 11 points and six boards, Monteleone eight points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.Butler played without seniors Hailey Metzger and Elizabeth Friel, and junior Alison Altman, all injured.“We were missing a couple of starters there, but they were missing one, too,” Maier said. “We have been building depth and that's a positive.“We have a chance to go 3-1 in section if we beat North Hills Friday. That has to be our focus now.”Butler's junior varsity posted a 42-38 win Saturday, improving to 8-0 this year. The Tornado JV is 48-4 over the past three years.Greensburg Central Catholic defeated West Allegheny in Saturday's consolation game, 49-40.MOHAWK 50Jordan Radzmynski 1-2 0-0 2, Abby Shoaf 1-6 0-1 3, Paige Julian 5-8 2-5 12, Hannah McDanel 4-12 0-0 10, Isabella Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0, Nadia Lape 6-15 8-10 23. Totals: 17-46 10-16 50.BUTLER 47Sarayne Forbes 7-12 0-0 15, Hannal Aldridge 0-0 0-0 0, Macklin Hanley 2-5 0-0 6, Jordan Kauffman 3-12 2-2 11, Emma Monteleone 3-8 0-4 8, Makenna Maier 3-13 1-1 7, Maisy Gibson 0-1 0-0 0, Aubree Tack 0-1 0-0 0. Totals:18-52 3-7 47.Mohawk 19 9 11 11 — 50Butler17 10 12 8 — 473-point goals: Shoaf, McDanel 2, Lape 3; Forbes, Hanley 2, Kauffman 3, Monteleone 2JV: Butler, 42-38 (M: Alexis Shiderly 8; Hannah Aldridge 9, Sarah Fiorina 8, Maisy Gibson 8)Friday: North Hills at Butler
