Snyder’s return pushes Lady Panthers past Tussey
SAXTON — Sydney Snyder was the best player on the court Wednesday night at Tussey Mountain High School.
Unfortunately for Northern Bedford, she couldn’t stay there much as she dealt with foul trouble throughout the District 5 2A quarterfinal matchup against the Lady Titans.
Without Snyder on the court, Tussey Mountain overcame an early eight-point deficit and went ahead by as many as nine before she returned to start the fourth quarter despite four fouls.
“I knew with the fouls that I had that my team would pick me up,” Snyder said. “It was very frustrating, but I knew that I had to play smart when I came in.”
Snyder’s return signaled a change in momentum, but 15 seconds into the fourth quarter Jostin Ebersole had to be carried off the floor by Northern Bedford coach Todd Eckenroad after rolling an ankle.
Snyder and the Lady Panthers used the injury as motivation rather than dwell on it and completed the comeback to pick up a 51-42 victory.
“When Jostin got hurt, I knew we had to win this for her,” Snyder said. “It made me smile to see her come back out to the bench. I’m overwhelmed that we came out on top.”
Snyder scored six of her game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter and set up plenty of other shots, including Peyton Leidy’s key 3-pointer that put the Lady Panthers up by four with 3:03 left.
“This team stepped up,” Eckenroad said. “For them to pull it off with Sydney in foul trouble, who is obviously our leading scorer, and Jostin, our best defensive player going down with a rolled ankle, the kids responded well. Sadie McConnell and Kaity Corle stepped in and played some big minutes.”
Northern Bedford will travel to Windber to play the district’s top seed on Friday in the semifinals.
“We feel confident, and I think it’s a matchup we can win,” Eckenroad said. “(Tussey Mountain) coach (Todd) Gates and I talked before the game that we thought either one of us could win that game. The District 5 2A bracket is up for grabs. We’re all pretty equal.”
Northern Bedford and Tussey Mountain were also pretty equal for most of Wednesday’s game.
The Lady Titans did not score until 1:22 remained in the first quarter but took a nine-point lead late in the third quarter. Emma Eckenroad responded with a 3-pointer followed by a Leidy layup to end the quarter that pulled Northern Bedford within four.
“When Snyder was on the bench with foul trouble, we should have distanced ourselves more, and we didn’t,” Gates said. “We missed so many shots, especially early in the game. If we would have made a few of those, it could have been different.”
The Lady Titans, who got 11 points and 11 rebounds from Ashley Clark, had won both regular season matchups. Emily Shuke and Sophie Brumbaugh each added 10 points for Tussey Mountain.
“It was a good game,” Gates said. “It was fun. There was a full gym, and it was loud. You know what? I hope they win districts. We’re rivals, but we’re friends. We will be pulling for them.”
The Lady Titans fell to 12-11, and Northern Bedford improved to 13-10.
Five of the seven players who took the court for Tussey Mountain are seniors, but Gates said they reached their goal.
“We had a disappointing year last year, and our goal was to make the playoffs this year,” Gates said. “It’s encouraging that Sophie and Lexi (Weimert), two freshmen, were maybe our best two players at the end of the year. We have something to build on.”
NORTHERN BEDFORD (51): Ebersole 0 2-4 2, Eckenroad 2 4-6 9, Leidy 5 0-1 11, Snyder 5 4-5 15, Gates 5 0-1 10, Cherry 0 0-0 0, McConnell 1 0-0 2, Corle 1 0-0 2. Totals — 19 10-17 51.
TUSSEY MOUNTAIN (42): L. Weimert 1 2-4 4, Sitch 3 0-0 7, Shuke 5 0-1 10, Lemin 0 0-0 0, Clark 4 3-5 11, Brumbaugh 4 2-2 10, T. Weimert 0 0-0 0. Totals — 17 7-12 42.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Northern Bedford 8 8 12 23 — 51
Tussey Mountain 5 16 11 10 — 42
3-point goals: Northern Bedford 3 (Eckenroad, Leidy, Snyder); Tussey Mountain 1 (Sitch).
Records: Northern Bedford (13-10); Tussey Mountain (12-11).
Officials: Steve Mellott, Justin Fischer, Craig Elbin.
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