Valley pushes Lady Pirates to the limit in ICC loss
By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
ALEXANDRIA — With the District 6 high school basketball playoffs looming right around the corner, most teams are looking for hotly-contested, hard-fought games to wrap up the regular season and provide a tune-up for the postseason.
In that sense, both the Williamsburg and Juniata Valley girls basketball teams got the matchup they were looking for Monday night.
After leading only 32-28 after three quarters, Williamsburg gained some separation in the fourth quarter, building an 11-point lead early in the period and staving off Valley, 49-43, in an Inter-County Conference game at the Juniata Valley High School gymnasium.
Sophomore forward Levada Gorsuch had a game-high 18 points and 14 rebounds for Williamsburg, which improved to 17-3 overall and kept its conference record perfect at 9-0.
“We knew coming in that it was going to be a tough game, but our defense played well, some of their players got into foul trouble, and we pulled it off,” Gorsuch said.
Williamsburg coach Angela Detwiler appreciated the tough competition that Juniata Valley provided her team.
“Give credit to Juniata Valley — they played a really tough game, and I was glad that we made it out with a win tonight,” Detwiler said. “A game like this, with a really good atmosphere here at Juniata Valley, is the kind of game that definitely gets us ready for the playoffs.”
Williamsburg led only 30-28 late in the third quarter when junior guard LeAnna Royer got free on a drive to the basket and cashed a layup right before the buzzer, giving the Lady Pirates the 32-28 lead after three quarters.
A field goal from the right corner by senior guard/forward Amelia Russell pulled Valley back to within two points, 32-30, but Gorsuch hit one of two free throws, junior guard Regan Prough converted a steal into a layup and sophomore guard Grace Colbert drained her second of three 3-pointers on the night, from the top of the circle, to give the Lady Pirates a 38-30 lead early in the fourth period.
“With (opposing) teams keying on LeAnna and Vada (Gorsuch), we’re encouraging our other girls to take shots when they’re available,” Detwiler said. “Grace had some open looks, and she scored three 3-pointers tonight. She’s certainly capable of doing that.”
Russell’s bucket cut the Williamsburg lead to 38-32, but the Lady Pirates responded by reeling off the next five points, with Gorsuch scoring from inside off a Colbert feed, and Colbert draining her final 3-pointer, staking Williamsburg to the 11-point, 43-32 lead.
Even so, Juniata Valley (11-8, 9-4) would not go quietly into the night, mounting a 9-3 run to close the gap to 46-41, on senior center Kassidy Watson’s bucket with 1:30 left.
After Royer hit one of two free throws, Valley sophomore Aubrey Anderson hit a pair of foul shots with 40 seconds left, pulling Valley to within four points, 47-43.
That’s the closest that the Lady Hornets could get, however, as Williamsburg senior forward Anastasia Ranalli came up with a steal and layup to give Williamsburg its final margin of victory.
Anderson led Valley with 14 points, while Valley freshman Lucy Fouse grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
“We played our hearts out the entire game,” said Valley coach Liz Radabaugh, whose team converted 18 of 61 floor shots for 29.5 percent, while Williamsburg made 16 of 54 for 29.6 percent. “We could have gotten a few more shots to fall, but I’m really proud of how hard everybody on our team played.”
Game notes: Juniata Valley staged a fundraiser for a local woman who is battling breast cancer. Sales of 50-50 tickets, gift baskets, and T-shirts, along with a portion of the concession sales, went to help defray some of the costs of treatment and travel for the woman and her family. “I thought that was a really nice event tonight,” Detwiler said … Williamsburg visits Southern Huntingdon Wednesday night, while Valley visits Saint Joseph’s Academy Wednesday.
WILLIAMSBURG (49): Royer 3 1-2 7, Ranalli 4 1-2 9, Gorsuch 4 10-17 18, Prough 1 0-2 2, Alexander 1 0-0 2, G. Colbert 3 0-0 9, A. Colbert 0 2-2 2. Totals – 16 14-25 49.
JUNIATA VALLEY (43): Taylor 1 2-2 4, Watson 3 0-0 6, Russell 2 0-0 4, Anderson 6 2-2 16, Walters 1 0-0 3, Fouse 2 0-2 4, Hartman 2 0-0 4, Harman 1 0-0 2. Totals – 18 4-6 43.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Williamsburg 5 13 14 17 — 49
Juniata Valley 4 12 12 15 — 43
3-point goals: Williamsburg 3 (G. Colbert 3). Juniata Valley 3 (Anderson 2, Walters).
Records: Williamsburg (17-3 overall, 9-0 in the Inter-County Conference); Juniata Valley (11-8, 9-4).
Officials: Bryan Jaymes, Matt Taylor, Jim Rivello.
JV: No game.