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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
PORTAGE -- Portage graduated all five of its starters from last year's PIAA playoff team and is currently playing without its lone senior Payton Noll, who is out with an injury.
With such a young and inexperienced squad on the floor, Tuesday's 49-46 Heritage Conference East win over Cambria Heights could turn out to be a turning point in the Lady Mustangs' maturation process.
"We're going into a stretch here in our conference where we play so many games before Feb. 3 when our semifinals are, and we want growth at this point -- not to be going backward," Portage coach Lance Hudak said. "I thought tonight we grew up a lot with a lot of young kids out there in nerve-wracking situations having to make good decisions. They kept their heads up and did enough down the stretch to get the win."
Junior Liana Bagby hit what turned out to be the game-winning jump shot with 1:12 left after Cambria Heights had fought back to tie the game after trailing for most of the second half.
"Liana, who had foot surgery in the offseason, is battling cramping and different things," Hudak said. "But she's one of our junior leaders, and that was a big shot for her to step up and hit that little 7 or 8-footer. It was huge. We had a lot of contributions from a lot of people tonight, and that's who we are."
Portage entered the fourth quarter with a 34-33 lead thanks to a layup by Cassie Burkett just before the third-quarter buzzer.
Cambria Heights briefly tied the game before Brynn Burkett put the Lady Mustangs back up with two free throws a minute into the quarter.
Over the next four minutes, Portage's lead grew to as many as six points before a pair of free throws by Maelyn Dutko and a lay-in by Sienna Kirsch cut Heights' deficit to 45-43.
Kirsch finished with a game-high 20 points and had 13 in the second half. She also had 10 rebounds.
Less than a minute later, it appeared Kendall Bednarski had put Portage back in control with a layup through contact, but instead a charge on Bednarski wiped out the basket and sent her to the bench with her fifth foul. She finished with a team-high 17 points for Portage.
"Kendall drove, and I'll look at the film later, but that was big," Hudak said. "You go from a four, maybe five-point separation if it's a foul and she makes the free throw back to two. It upset Kendall fouling out there, but we want that aggression and trying to score, because we have to manufacture points at times."
Brynn Burkett's free throw with 1:42 left put the Lady Mustangs up three, but Lilly Karlheim's 3-pointer with 1:31 left tied the game and sent Cambria Heights' bench into celebration mode.
The big shot by Karlheim could prove to be valuable later in the season as the girls around Kirsch continue to gain confidence as scorers.
"You look at our early games, and we were relying almost solely on Sienna's scoring," Cambria Heights coach Eric Thomas said. "I think it took us six games before anyone besides her was in double digits scoring. We have been much better the last four or five games. They know they have to, because other teams are focusing on Sienna. They need that confidence."
Karlheim and Kinley Rogal, who fouled out with 1:42 left, both scored 10 points for the Lady Highlanders.
Cambria Heights had a couple possessions in the final minute but never got off a shot to attempt to tie the game.
"When you come out of a three-week break, a lot of shots that usually fall aren't going to fall," Thomas said. "We just have to get back into the gym and get back at it."
Both teams struggled at the foul line, going a combined 29-for-53.
"The free-throw shooting is something we have to get better at," Hudak said. "We just struggle for whatever reason. It's muscle memory. We haven't been successful, and when we get to that line, we haven't been able to overcome that."
CAMBRIA HEIGHTS (46): Kirsch 6 8-11 20, Vinglish 1 1-4 3, Rogal 5 0-0 10, Dutko 0 2-2 2, Karlheim 4 0-0 10, Bender 0 1-3 1. Totals -- 16 12-20 46.
PORTAGE (49): Myher 0 6-10 6, C. Burkett 1 3-8 5, Bagby 4 3-7 12, Bednarski 7 2-2 17, B. Burkett 3 3-4 9, Stancovich 0 0-2 0, Irvin 0 0-0 0, Burda 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 15 17-33 49.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cambria Heights 10 11 12 13 -- 46
Portage 5 20 9 15 -- 49
3-point goals: Cambria Heights 2 (Karlheim 2); Portage 2 (Bednarski, Bagby).
Records: Cambria Heights (7-4); Portage (6-4).
Officials: Stephen Yesenosky, Sam Brunatti, Courtney Cecere.
JV: Portage, 28-16. High scorers--Johanna Noel, P, 9; Markie Bender, CH, 7.