Miller

EBENSBURG — On a night when the Bishop Carroll Catholic High School top-tier girls basketball team recognized its seniors, Sarah Miller’s star shined ultra bright.

Miller scored a game-high 16 points, including four field goals in a fourth quarter that saw Carroll pull away for a 59-44 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference victory over neighboring rival Penn Cambria Monday night in a game that was played at the Bishop Carroll High School gymnasium.

Miller, who joined fellow senior teammates Madison Delauter and Claire Long in being honored in a pre-game ceremony, also shared game rebounding honors with Carroll sophomore Emily Lucko — both grabbed nine — as the Lady Huskies jacked their overall record to 19-1 and their conference mark to 15-1.

After Penn Cambria had narrowed what had been a 17-point early third-quarter deficit to six points, 40-34, after three quarters, Miller helped Carroll gain some separation with a 13-2 run to start the fourth period.

“The atmosphere here was amazing tonight, and the turnout in our student section was great — we couldn’t have asked for more,” said Miller, an excellent all-around athlete who plans to attend Saint Francis University next year and play on the women’s golf team there. “We knew coming in that (Penn Cambria) is a good team, and that we would have to play our best tonight. And we did.”

Delauter, a 5-foot-2 guard, ignited Carroll’s fourth-quarter surge with a 3-pointer from the left side to put the Lady Huskies on top, 45-36. Two consecutive putback buckets by Miller, followed by two straight field goals by junior Adelyn Myers and another bucket by Lucko, expanded Carroll’s advantage to 55-38 and put the game out of reach.

Carroll coach Nick Smith had high words of praise for his three seniors.

“They all play very hard and they all practice very hard,” Smith said. “Madison controls the ball for us and gets us the shots when we need them, and Sarah either gets us the shots or makes them herself.”

Carroll put three players in double figures. Along with Miller’s 16 points, Myers and junior Ava Pablic scored 14 apiece for Carroll, which burst out to a 17-9 advantage after one quarter and a 28-14 lead at intermission before Penn Cambria, which was led by senior guard MaKenna McCoy’s 13 points, rallied back by carrying the third quarter, 20-12.

“Give our kids credit, they fought back and made it a six-point game after falling behind in the first half, but we just didn’t have enough gas to keep going tonight,” said Penn Cambria coach Josh Himmer, whose team dropped to 14-5 overall and 10-5 in the conference. “Carroll deserves all the credit – they’re very good, and they’re ranked among the top Class 1A teams in the state for a reason.

“In the first half, they outplayed us physically, and that’s a credit to them,” Himmer added.

After Penn Cambria punched back in the third quarter, Carroll secured the victory with its strong fourth quarter.

“At halftime, we talked about the fact that Penn Cambria was not going to stop battling, and they made adjustments in the third quarter,” Smith said. “They’re a well-coached team, but in the fourth quarter, we got the shots that we wanted.”

Game notes: Carroll outrebounded Penn Cambria, 35-28, with sophomore forward Sophia Beard leading the Lady Panthers in that category with seven … Both teams are back in action Thursday night, with Carroll hosting Forest Hills and Penn Cambria hosting Chestnut Ridge.

PENN CAMBRIA (44): Ronan 1 0-0 3, Andersen 1 0-0 2, Avery Lemaster 0 3-4 3, McCoy 5 0-0 13, Fisher 3 0-0 7, Beard 1 4-4 6, Avayah Lemaster 2 2-2 6, Rabatin 1 1-2 4. Totals – 14 11-12 44.

BISHOP CARROLL (59): Delauter 1 0-0 3, Pablic 4 2-4 14, Avery Myers 3 0-0 6, Adelyn Myers 6 0-2 14, Lucko 2 2-2 6, Miller 8 0-2 16, Long 0 0-0 0. Totals -24 4-10 59.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Penn Cambria 9 5 20 10 — 44

Bishop Carroll 17 11 12 19 — 59

3-point goals: Penn Cambria 5 (McCoy 3, Ronan, Fisher); Bishop Carroll 7 (Pablic 4, Adelyn Myers 2, Delauter ).

Records: Penn Cambria (14-5 overall, 10-5 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Bishop Carroll (19-1, 15-1).

Officials: Dan Amrhein, Doug McNulty, Jason Moschgat.

JV: Penn Cambria, 37-34. High scorers–Aubrey Reilly, PC, 10; Aiyanna Saxion, BC, 10.