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By Nate Ritchey
nritchey@altoonamirror.com
PORTAGE -- The Portage girls basketball team had a slightly different look to its game plan Friday against Aliquippa.
The Lady Mustangs stuck to their patented full-court press off an inbounds or made basket. However, the wrinkle came when they dropped back into a zone in the front court -- something Portage rarely does.
According to coach Lance Hudak, the plan worked to perfection as Portage used a huge turnover-forced opening quarter to set the tone in earning a 53-41 victory over Aliquippa in PIAA Class 2A first-round action.
"We really thought if we pressed, then went back to a zone, which we don't ever do, so we worked on our 2-3 zone this week," Hudak said. "We wanted them (Aliquippa) to shoot from the outside -- they didn't want to. They're all about pounding it in and driving. The girls just executed the game plan to perfection."
With the win, Portage, the District 6 second seed, moves to 24-3 and into a second-round matchup with Kennedy Catholic, a 68-24 winner over Fort Cherry, on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
While the point of the zone look was to force Aliquippa to prove it could knock down shots from the outside, the suffocating defense of the Mustangs didn't even give it much of a chance to get set into a half court offense.
The Quips (22-5), the District 7 third seed, turned the ball over on their first seven possessions, but Portage was unable to cash in as they led just 4-0 on two free throws from Ashlyn Hudak and a layup by Alex Chobany.
Aunesty Johnson converted a putback at 4:59 to put Aliquippa on the board at 4-2.
The Lady Mustangs reeled off a 7-0 run for an 11-2 edge when Ashlyn Hudak buried a 3-pointer from the right side with 1:37 on the clock.
"We knew that they (Aliquippa) were going to be in man (defense)," Ashlyn Hudak said. "We love playing against man because we love to get those drives and those kick-outs. I think we did a really great job as a team doing that."
Johnson, who fronted the Quips with 18 points, stopped the run with a turnaround in the lane with 24 ticks left.
Chobany drilled a trey with 2.2 ticks to go to give her team a 14-4 edge at the end of one stanza.
All told, the visitors gave the ball away 11 times in the first eight minutes, while Portage turned it over itself just twice.
"It (turnovers early) was the difference in the game," Aliquippa coach Dwight Lindsey said. "It seemed like we had 100 turnovers. All-in-all, that's where we messed up at. We were prepared for it as we watched film -- about two or three games. ... We knew what they like to do."
Aliquippa would settle in during the second as the two teams managed nine points apiece as the Mustangs took a 23-13 lead into the half.
Portage leading scorer Jenna Burkett, who was face-guarded for a large portion of the night, knocked down a triple to open the third.
After a pair of free throws by Aliquippa's Yaree Carter, Ashlyn Hudak delivered a trifecta of her own to give the Lady Mustangs their largest lead up to that point of 14 (29-15).
While the Mustangs were freely giving up the open looks from beyond the arc, the Quips barely took any, and actually only hit one on the game when Carla Brown delivered at 2:34 of the third to get the score back to 10 at 34-24.
Chobany, who finished with 12 points, used her second 3-pointer of the night to kickstart seven unanswered by the Lady Mustangs as Burkett and Ashlyn Hudak both hit two free throws to stretch the advantage to 41-24 with 55 seconds remaining in the third.
For the game, the foul line proved pivotal as Portage knocked down 14-of-16, while Aliquippa hit just 6-of-15.
Ashlyn Hudak, who poured in a game-high 22 points including four from downtown, had 10 of those in a third stanza where Portage owned a 20-13 scoring edge and led 43-26 at the end.
"They (Aliquippa) were very aggressive in their man (defense)," Coach Hudak said. "So, we talked to the girls about beating their defender first. If we could beat that first defender and get into the paint, then we're going to have looks inside or we're going to have kicks (outside)."
After the two teams traded baskets on three straight trips each, a bucket by Chobany with 5:47 showing gave Portage its largest lead of the night of 18 at 49-31.
The Quips could have easily tucked tail and admitted defeat, but that's not what got them to this point.
"One thing about these girls is that they never quit," Lindsey said. ". ... We definitely got the heart of a lion. I tell them all the time that sometimes we might not play the best but we always play hard. I'll take that to the bank any day of the week."
Instead, Aliquippa flipped the script by turning Portage over four times and going on an 8-0 burst of its own to get back with 10 (49-39) when Johnson, who had six points in the stretch, got a putback at 3:54.
A pair of missed foul shots by Denim Odom could have cut the contest to single digits, but instead Portage went into stall mode and was able to milk nearly three minutes off the clock.
Aliquippa, which wasn't in a rush to start fouling, still had four fouls to give to put Portage in the bonus.
"There at the end they (Aliquippa) made a run but I thought we really kept our heads, valued possessions and controlled the ball," Coach Hudak said.
Finally, with 48.6 ticks left, Cami Burkett went to the line and knocked down a pair and then did it again following an offensive foul called on the Quips.
A Johnson driving layup with 7.4 to go set the final.
For the game, Portage forced 28 turnovers while giving up half of that itself.
Aliquippa dominated the boards as it owned a 33-21 edge with Johnson pulling down 13, and three others (Brown, Carter and Odom) collecting six or more each.
ALIQUIPPA (41): Ausby 2 0-0 4, Brown 3 2-2 9, Carter 1 2-3 4, Johnson 9 0-2 18, Odom 2 2-8 6, Cobb 0 0-0 0, Brown-Pasha 0 0-0 0, Hall 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 6-15 41.
PORTAGE (53): Hudak 6 6-8 22, Chobany 5 0-0 12, Cam. Burkett 0 6-6 6, B. Bednarski 3 0-0 6, J. Burkett 2 2-2 7, Myher 0 0-0 0, Noll 0 0-0 0, Cas. Burkett 0 0-0 0, K. Bednarski 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 14-16 53.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Aliquippa 4 9 13 15 -- 41
Portage 14 9 20 10 -- 53
3-point field goals: Aliquippa 1 (Brown); Portage 7 (Hudak 4, Chobany 2, J. Burkett).
Records: Aliquippa (22-5); Portage (24-3).