Basketball

Anderson helps PC capture trophy

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

TYRONE -- For Penn Cambria senior guard Isabelle "Izzy" Andersen, shooting a basketball is a year-round passion.

"Izzy absolutely buys into shooting the basketball,'' first-year Penn Cambria girls coach Josh Himmer said after Andersen scored a game-high 19 points Friday night to lead Penn Cambria to a 58-47 win over Bellwood-Antis in the girls championship game of the 12th annual Reliance Bank Kiwanis Club Tournament at the Tyrone Area Senior High School gymnasium.

"She has two good parents who watch over her game, and she does so much shooting in the offseason as well as during the season,'' Himmer said.

Andersen, who was named the Most Valuable Player in the girls tournament, scored 11 points in the fourth quarter by hitting three clutch 3-point field goals for Penn Cambria, which ruled the second half, 37-23, to wipe out a 24-21 halftime deficit.

Penn Cambria (5-4) connected on nine 3-pointers in the game, with Andersen accounting for five of them.

"I love shooting the 3,'' Andersen said. "Honestly, in the first half, I was in a funk, but toward the end of the game, I knew that I really had to kick into it, and I did what I do.

"This was a team effort -- I couldn't have done this without the support of my teammates,'' Andersen said. "We started off a little slow in the first half, but in the second half, we picked up the momentum and battled back.''

Penn Cambria trailed, 33-27, in the third quarter after Bellwood sophomore forward Lilly Gerwert converted a fast-break layup.

But the Lady Panthers put together a 13-3 run to close the quarter strong with a 40-36 lead. Freshman Avery Lemaster drained a 3-point shot and then scored a layup off a steal to start the rally. After Bellwood junior forward Jenna Norton converted a three-point play on a traditional field goal and free throw to put the Lady Blue Devils on top, 36-32, Penn Cambria responded by reeling off the final eight points of the third quarter.

Andersen hit a 3-ball from the right side, sophomore guard Makenna McCoy scored two consecutive layups, and sophomore guard Reagan Ronan hit one of two free throws during the eight-point run.

Penn Cambria more than held serve in the fourth quarter, carrying the final period, 18-11. Ronan's free throw, a 3-pointer from the left side by sophomore guard Meghan Andersen, a 3-ball from the left corner by Lemaster, and two 3-pointers from Izzy Andersen put the Lady Panthers squarely in the driver's seat with a 56-46 lead.

Bellwood, which got 13 points and nine rebounds from Norton, 12 points and 11 rebounds from Gerwert, and 10 points and five rebounds from junior guard Leigha Clapper, dropped to 5-2.

Bellwood coach Kyley Longo gave Penn Cambria props for playing a very solid second half.

"In the first half, we played excellent halfcourt defense, and I think that we certainly played with a lot of energy,'' Longo said. "In the second half, (Penn Cambria) hit their shots from the outside and they were also aggressive going to the rim, and we were settling for perimeter looks instead of getting to the rim.''

Himmer gave Ronan, who skillfully runs the Penn Cambria floor game and also grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds while scoring nine points Friday, kudos for being a team catalyst.

"Reagan is absolutely the heart of this team,'' Himmer said. "She runs our offense, she gets rebounds for us, and everything we do runs through her.''

Along with Izzy Andersen, other girls all-tournament selections were Penn Cambria's Kaylee Harpster, Bellwood's Gerwert and Chloe Hammond, Central's Morgan Knepp, and Tyrone's Claire Lehman.

Bellwood resumes its season this Tuesday night with a home game against Williamsburg, while Penn Cambria next sees action on Wednesday night by hosting Bishop Carroll in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game.

Himmer is pleased with his team's unity and cohesiveness at this point in the season.

"We've faced a lot of adversity with injuries and illnesses so far this season, but our group has been starting to come together,'' Himmer said. "All the credit goes to our girls, and especially to our seniors, who have shown great leadership.

"These players are all buying in to what we're trying to do with what is a new system for them, and I can't give them all enough credit.''

PENN CAMBRIA (58): Ronan 3 2-4 9, Harpster 2 0-0 4, Vinglish 1 2-6 4, Beck 0 2-2 2, I. Andersen 6 2-4 19, M. Andersen 1 0-2 3, McCoy 2 3-4 7, McConnell 1 0-0 2, Lemaster 3 0-2 8, Saleme 0 0-0 0, Baney 0 0-0 0, Krug 0 0-0 0, Shoemaker 0 0-0 0, Davison 0 0-0 0, Stipanovich 0 0-0 0. Totals - 19 11-24 58.

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (47): Clapper 4 0-0 10, Norton 5 3-5 13, Quick 3 0-0 7, Hammond 1 1-4 3, Gerwert 5 1-2 11, Cacciotti 1 1-2 3. Totals — 19 6-13 47.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Penn Cambria 11 10 19 18--58

Bellwood-Antis 12 12 12 11--47

3-point goals: Penn Cambria 9 (I. Andersen 5, Lemaster 2, M. Anderson, Ronan); Bellwood-Antis 3 (Clapper 2, Quick).

Officials: Clark Adelman, Bill Pfeffer, Dan Solomon.

Records: Penn Cambria (5-4), Bellwood-Antis (5-2).