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Ramsey helps get Eagles into title tilt

HOLLIDAYSBURG — After raining 3-pointers in the second quarter Tuesday night, Tyrone’s Stephanie Ramsey didn’t make a field goal in the decisive fourth quarter.

She didn’t have to.

The sophomore guard came up big down the stretch from the foul line.

Ramsey knocked down six of her eight attempts from the foul line in the final two minutes of regulation as the top-seeded Lady Eagles outdistanced No. 4 United, 62-51, in a District 6 3A girls semifinal at Hollidaysburg Senior High School.

“Before the game, our coach told us to have the championship mindset for 32 minutes,” said Ramsey, who scored a team-high 23 points. “In practice, I focus a lot on foul shots, and I knew what I needed to do to help my team.”

Tyrone (20-3) advances to the district final where it will face second-seeded Cambria Heights on Friday at Mount Aloysius College at 6 p.m. Heights was a 61-47 winner over No. 6 Penn Cambria.

“Whichever team we’re playing is going to be a tough matchup for us, so we’ve got to be ready to go,” Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades said before he knew his team would face Cambria Heights in the district final. “We’ve got to be able to handle pressure, and make sure we’re mentally in it for the full 32 minutes.”

United (20-5) will play Penn Cambria in the consolation game, also on Friday, at a site and time to be determined. All four teams advance to the PIAA state playoffs.

After a back-and-forth first quarter, Tyrone took an early 10-6 lead heading into the second. That’s when Ramsey got the hot hand from behind the 3-point line. She hit a pair of 3s early in the second quarter, followed by a triple from teammate Shannon Shaw, as the Lady Eagles rattled off nine straight points for a 19-7 lead at the 6:21 mark.

United answered with a free throw from Maizee Fry and a jumper from Alexa Silk to cut the lead to 19-10. Tyrone then went on a 9-3 run, powered by 3s from Ramsey and Shawn, to take a 28-13 lead late in the second quarter. After United’s Madison Duplin put back her own miss, Tyrone’s Ramsey was at it again, sinking another 3-pointer to give the Lady Eagles a 31-15 halftime advantage.

“Once I missed my first (3-pointer), I knew I couldn’t get in my own head, and then they just kept falling,” Ramsey said. “I give a lot of credit to my teammates for the great passes.”

Fry, a junior center, went to work after halftime. She scored eight of her game-high 24 points in the third quarter, helping the Lady Lions cut the lead to 41-32 heading into the final quarter.

Tyrone sophomore forward Jaida Parker converted two strong drives to the basket into layups, and assisted on an Emma Getz layup that helped the Lady Eagles build a 51-35 lead at 4:42, forcing United coach Paul Hall to call a timeout.

Then Fry went back to work. She made a free throw, hit a step-back 3-pointer, banked in a 3, and added another trey during a 14-3 run that helped the Lady Lions climb back to within four points, 53-49, with 2:04 left in the game.

“I thought we did a pretty good job on her in the first half,” said Rhoades, whose team held Fry to just six points in the opening half. “She’s a heck of a player. She’s very tough, very solid around the hoop, and when she stepped out and hit those 3s, I was like ‘oh boy.'”

Fortunately for Tyrone, it was able to get the ball in the hands of Ramsey often over the final two minutes of the game.

Ramsey connected on 6-of-8 free throws as Tyrone closed the game with a decisive 9-2 run.

“We wanted to get the ball in Stephanie’s hands and she did a good job getting to the line and executing her foul shots,” Rhoades said. “Give United credit, they fought until the very end.”

Fry added a game-high 14 rebounds for United, which got 10 points from Duplin.

“In the first half, we were giving them too many open shots and that team can drain 3s all night on you,” Hall said. “In the second half, I think we outplayed them at certain times. At the end we had to foul, and they made their foul shots.”

Parker turned in a complete performance for Tyrone with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Getz added 10 points and Shaw had nine points.

“I thought she did a great job of recognizing whenever they would switch up and get some mismatches then taking it to the hole and finishing strong,” Rhoades said of Parker.

Tyrone lost three straight games to close out last season. The Lady Eagles lost to Penn Cambria in the district semifinals, Central Cambria in last year’s 3A consolation game, and then fell to WPIAL champ Neshannock in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs.

“It was something we talked about in the offseason,” Rhoades said of last season’s ending. “It’s tough when you lose in the semis, lose in the consy and lose in that first round (of the PIAA playoffs). Hopefully, mentally, we learned from that.”

Game notes: Both teams struggled at the free throw line. Tyrone was just 17-of-27 (63 percent) while United was 7-of-14 (50 percent). … Tyrone beat United, 63-45, in last year’s District 6 3A quarterfinals.

UNITED (51): Susick 2 0-0 5, Fry 8 5-12 24, Donelson 2 2-2 8, Duplin 4 0-0 10, Murlin 1 0-0 2, Travis 0 0-0 0, Silk 1 0-0 2. Totals – 18 7-14 51.

TYRONE (62): Ramsey 6 6-8 23, Fusco 2 0-0 4, Shaw 2 3-4 9, Getz 3 4-7 10, Parker 6 4-8 16, Gibbons 0 0-0 0, Brodzina 0 0-0 0, Saltsgiver 0 0-0 0. Totals – 19 17-27 62.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

United 6 9 17 19 – 51

Tyrone 10 21 10 21 – 62

3-point goals – United 8 (Susick, Fry 3, Donelson 2, Duplin 2); Tyrone 7 (Ramsey 5, Shaw 2).

Records: United (20-5); Tyrone (20-3).

Officials: Dave Pray, Justin Fraker, Derek Jones.

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