By Nate Ritchey

nritchey@altoonamirror.com

EBENSBURG — Opening night of the high school basketball season is usually a night of uncertainty as teams often struggle to find their groove or any sort of rhythm in the early going.

During Friday night’s second game of the Lady Huskies Tip-off Tournament, it was Bishop Carroll that settled in before Central during the second quarter after the two teams came out cold and timid in a turnover-filled first stanza.

However, the Lady Dragons came out on fire from deep after the half before BC quieted them down with a run of its own en route to a 45-36 victory.

“The second quarter we really did start to take advantage of what we were given and we were able to capitalize on that,” Bishop Carroll coach John Strittmatter said. “We are a young team but our girls really played hard.”

Central will play Cambria Heights in Saturday’s 6 p.m. consolation game, while BC faces Marion Center in the championship to follow.

“They (Bishop Carroll) had a little better mindset coming into the game because I think our girls were a little nervous,” Central coach Blake Over said. “I think they (BC) have a little more experience than we do, and they were able to come in and gain that traction a little sooner than we could.”

The Lady Huskies had an 8-2 lead after one quarter before settling in during the second, as a 8-1 run to begin with pushed the lead to its largest of the night of 13 (16-3) on a layup by Ava Pablic with a little over halfway to go.

Down 18-6, Central got back-to-back buckets on a two by Adyson Poet and 3-pointer from Marah Dickson to get back within seven (18-11) with 1:57 left in the first half.

However, BC reeled off six straight — a hoop and one free throw by Avery Myers and a trifecta from Madison Delauter, who led all scorers with 13 — to balloon the lead back to 13 at 24-11 at the half.

“They (Central) are a really hard-working group and they expect better than what they played in the first half,” Over said. “So, they came out ready to prove it.”

Central regrouped in the locker room and came out ready as it began to break the press of Bishop Carroll which led to many open looks.

While the shots didn’t fall in the first two quarters for the Lady Dragons, the third stanza proved to be the opposite as they buried four from downtown as part of a 14-2 spurt.

“We came out in the second half and it was there — our shots were going in,” Over said. “In the first half, they just weren’t falling. They (Bishop Carroll) packed in the zone and we couldn’t hit any shots.”

Madeline Benton, who connected on three treys, got Central going with a deep one just 11 seconds into the third while Dickson, who made four from beyond the arc and paced the Lady Dragons with 12 points, capped off the run with her third of the evening at 3:58 to cut the deficit to just one at 26-25.

Just as quickly as Bishop Carroll let Central climb back into the game, the Lady Huskies swung momentum completely back in their favor by responding with 10 unanswered to close out the quarter for a 36-25 edge.

“When they (Central) made a run in the third, we didn’t give up, we didn’t panic but we stayed in it,” Strittmatter said. “Then we got another 10-point lead. That’s a good sign for a young team like we have.”

Pablic, who had 12 points on the night, delivered five straight in the run.

The two teams combined for seven turnovers to began the final quarter before Central got a putback by Lyla Imes at 5:46 for the first points.

While the Lady Dragons outscored the Huskies, 11-9, in the fourth, it was Sarah Miller for Carroll that diddn’t allow Central to go on a run.

Three different times, Miller answered a Lady Dragon basket with one of her own. The BC junior collected seven of her 11 points in the final stanza to keep her team out in front.

“She (Miller) is really developing into a good player and she understands what’s going on,” Strittmatter said. “We’re so happy that she’s part of our team as she contributes and she’s smart.”

Central got as close as seven points when Alexis Rhykerd knocked down her team’s ninth 3-pointer of the evening with 52.2 left to make the score 43-36.

Two foul shots from Delauter set the final with 47.6 to go in the game.

CENTRAL (36): Poet 2 1-2 6, Boyles 0 0-2 0, Dickson 4 0-0 12, L. Imes 3 0-0 6, Benton 3 0-0 9, A. Imes 0 0-0 0, Rhykerd 1 0-0 3. Totals: 13 1-4 36.

BISHOP CARROLL (45): Delauter 5 2-2 13, Miller 5 0-0 11, Ad. Myers 1 0-0 3, Golden 0 0-2 0, Pablic 4 3-4 12, Lieb 0 0-0 0, Sirsikar 0 0-0 0, Av. Myers 2 1-2 5, Lucko 0 1-2 1, Dziabo 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 7-12 45.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central 2 9 14 11 — 36

Bishop Carroll 8 16 12 9 — 45

3-point field goals: Central 9 (Dickson 4, Benton 3, Poet, Rhykerd); Bishop Carroll 4 (Delauter, Miller, Ad. Myers, Pablic).

Records: Central (0-1); Bishop Carroll (1-0).

Heights downed

Cambria Heights lost 50-24 to Marion Center in the opening round of the Lady Huskies Tip-off Tournament.

Lydia Miller led a balanced attack with 14 points for the Lady Stingers, who led 22-15 at the break. Natalie Black added 11 points as MC used a 17-4 third-quarter showing to get the victory.

Sienna Kirsch led Heights with 15 points.

CAMBRIA HEIGHTS (24): Kirsch 5 4-4 15, K Rogal 1 0-0 2, Bender 1 0-0 3, Dutko 0 2-4 2. Totals — 7 6-8 24.

MARION CENTER (50): Av Ruddock 2 2-2 6, Al Ruddock 3 0-0 6, V Haggerty 3 1-2 9, Miller 6 0-0 14, Black 4 3-6 11, M Shadle 2 0-0 4. Totals — 20 6-10 50.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Cambria Heights 7 8 4 5 — 24

Marion Center 6 16 17 11 — 50

3-point goals: Cambria Heights 2 (Kirsch, Bender); Marion Center 4 (Haggerty 2, Miller 2)

Records: Marion Center (1-0), Cambria Heights (0-1)