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MARION CENTER -- Cambria Heights found a way to win. The Lady Highlanders have done that a lot lately.
Kinley Rogal scored a game-high 22 points, and Markie Bender performed the tough tasks underneath as the Highlanders earned a 35-32 victory over second-seeded Marion Center in a District 6 Class 3A semifinal basketball playoff game on Monday night.
The Highlanders take on top-seeded Central Cambria in the district championship game at 7 p.m. Friday at Mount Aloysius College. Heritage Conference Marion Center plays host to Penns Valley in the third-place game at 7 p.m. Friday.
"They said, 'hey, I'd rather play for the district championship than the conference championship. So here we are," Cambria Heights coach Eric Thomas said.
"It's going to be tough. We'll have to watch a lot of film and execute our defense and offense as well as we can," Rogal said.
Bender acknowledged that Central Cambria will likely be favored on Friday night, in much the same way Marion Center was.
"That's what we like. We like to be the underdog. And we know Central Cambria is a good team," she said. "But we'll also try to do what we normally do and try to get the job done. And on top of that, I know that we've been working so hard, all five of us, and we'll give it our all and try to do what we can do."
Cambria Heights assumed a 10-2 lead entering the second period, largely on the strength of holding the Stingers to 0-for-18 shooting from the beginning. The Highlanders, who typically play a man defense, opened the night a 2-3 zone that befuddled the Stingers.
"Against Marion Center I knew that a zone would probably be better. And we played a really good 2-3 zone tonight," Rogal said.
"We felt like the matchups really didn't go our way. So we felt like we had to do that," Thomas said.
"We didn't play our best. We didn't shoot well. And it wasn't even long 2's, (We were missing) layups. It was a little bit of everything," Marion Center coach Amy Trimble said.
Macie Miller hit a jumper at the 3:33 mark of the second period to account for the Stingers' first field goal. The senior led Marion Center with 12 points and nine rebounds. Marion Center drew to within 16-13 at the break.
"I knew we could win this game, but we knew we had to play really good defense and stop their one main player, Macie," Rogal said.
Rogal attacked the middle as often as Marion Center would let her, which seemed to be almost every possession.
"They didn't come out of their man. And any time there would be switches we knew she could take that opportunity and get to the hoop," Thomas said.
The Stingers employed a fullcourt press that posed problems for the Highlanders and helped Marion Center pull within three, 29-26 at the end of three quarters.
"We made some mental mistakes when we had the five- to seven-point lead," Thomas said. "We saw the openings, so we were taking the layups. We weren't finishing them, though. I told the girls; 'If you have a layup, you've got to finish it.' It was a high-pressure game, so people make mistakes, obviously."
"Sometimes we get flustered and turn the ball over. I know we can break it. We just need to patient and look for open players," Rogal said.
Bender raked in 12 rebounds for Heights.
"I know that my role on the team is definitely defense. I obviously can't do offensive things, but I rely on my teammates for offense, and they rely on me to get rebounds. I'm small so I think a lot of people don't expect that from me. But I always try to hustle and give it my all on defense because I know how I can do that. So I think that's probably how I get so many rebounds; I always try to go where the ball is, box out and do my best at getting rebounds because I know that's my role," she said.
"We had to do a good job on the (offensive) boards, and early on you could see they got a few offensive rebounds. I thought in that 2-3 defense we did a pretty nice job of everyone going in there to rebound," Thomas said.
Two of the Stingers' starters, Gracynn Silvis and Natalie Black, fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Cambria Heights, meanwhile, received quality minutes from reserve Ava Adams.
"I'm really proud of her. I know she can play just as well as all of us (starters). She may not have the most (self-)confidence, but I always tell her that's she good and she can play just as well as the rest of us out there," Rogal said.
CAMBRIA HEIGHTS (35): Rogal 8 6-10 22, Bender 0 2-2 2, L.Karlheim 3 2-2 8, J.Karlheim 0 0-2 0, Kirsch 1 0-0 3, Adams 0 0-0 0. Totals - 12 10-16 35.
MARION CENTER (32): Black 1 5-6 7, Miller 4 4-6 12, Av.Ruddock 2 1-3 5, Al.Ruddock 3 0-2 8, Silvis 0 0-0 0, Hauser 0 0-0 0, Kubica 0 0-0 0. Totals - 11 10-17 32.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Cambria Heights 10 6 13 6 - 35
Marion Center 2 11 13 6 - 32
3-point goals: Cambria Heights 1 (Kirsch)
Officials: Clark Adelman, John McDougal, Daniel Solomon.
Team records: Cambria Heights (16-8), Marion Center (22-4).