Forest Hills took advantage of the havoc and jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter, but once Penn Cambria found its footing — and got warmed up — the Lady Panthers battled back to tie the game by halftime and pulled away in the second half to win the championship, 59-46.

“We didn’t have our bus,” Penn Cambria coach Josh Himmer said. “Our bus wasn’t there. Our athletic director called the bus company, and I don’t know if their bus driver was sick or just forgot, but we didn’t have a bus. We called another bus driver, and they got to the school with 20 minutes to go before the game. We changed at the school and prepped and stretched. We talk about overcoming adversity, and we said that wasn’t going to stop us from winning a title.”

The team that came out for the second half looked a lot more like the Penn Cambria team that beat Forest Hills by 24 in the regular season.

Avayah LeMaster opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer and flashed the 3-point sign with her fingers and the bench jumped off their seats in excitement.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Forest Hills' Isabella Carpenter passes off between Penn Cambria's Peyton Rabatin (left) and Rachel Fisher.

“My confidence was through the roof,” LeMaster said. “After that rough first quarter, hitting that and feeling the momentum shift was awesome.”

LeMaster said the late arrival definitely played a role in the early deficit.

“I was so stressed. Everyone was sitting there waiting,” Avayah LeMaster said. “(The bus) finally showed up, and we had no time to warm up. It felt like we got on the bus, and then the game was starting. I think it led to our slow start. We were all sitting there waiting and got stiff.”

Forest Hills did take a brief lead in the third quarter, but then Sophia Beard, who was scoreless in the first half, began to take over. She scored all 12 of her points in the final 10 minutes of the game and also led everyone with 10 rebounds.

“Soph didn’t start off great and missed a couple shots, and that was nerves,” Himmer said. “I asked her when she was sitting on the bench if she was done playing like crap. She said yes, and I told her to get her butt in there and do what she does.”

Himmer’s words resonated for Beard.

“I knew my coach and team had confidence in me,” Beard said. “I had confidence in myself and led the team to a win. This is a great feeling.”

With the victory, Penn Cambria will host the third-place finisher out of District 4 in the first round of the PIAA playoffs on Saturday, March 7. Forest Hills will travel to the third-place finisher out of the WPIAL the same day.

“Our girls were just tougher in the second half, and that’s what it came down to,” Himmer said. “As the game got tougher, we got tougher. We were able to counter-punch and do what we do.”

Himmer said he never lost faith in his team after their slow start.

“I have complete and utter trust in these girls,” Himmer said. “No matter what, they will fight. We let our nerves get to us a little bit in the beginning of the game, but they are warriors. They worked their butts off, and they did exactly what I thought they would do.”

Senior Makenna McCoy led Penn Cambria with 18 points and made three timely 3-pointers in the second half.

“The last couple games, Makenna has shot the lights out,” Himmer said.

A year ago, Penn Cambria jumped out to a big lead against Forest Hills in the district final, and it was the Lady Rangers that dominated the second half and rallied to win.

Part of Penn Cambria’s progression has been its ability to deal with adversity, whether it’s bus-related or foul trouble. Senior point guard Reagan Ronan and Rachel Fisher each picked up their fourth foul in the third quarter. Fisher played nearly the final 10 minutes with her four fouls.

“All season, we have gotten ourselves in foul trouble just being dumb sometimes,” Himmer said. “It’s enormous that they didn’t foul out. Those are our two main ballhandlers. We have learned to play with fouls as the season has gone on. Playing in this conference is really tough, and the girls have adapted to what has come at us.”

That adaptation has led to a 19-5 record and the girls’ first district title since 2023.

“We have grown mentally and physically,” Avayah LeMaster said. “We have also grown as individuals and as a team, and we keep getting better.”

Forest Hills got a team-high 16 points from senior Aivah Maul and 14 points from Paxtyn Pcola.

“Penn Cambria will come at you in waves,” Forest Hills coach Carol Cecere said. “It doesn’t matter which girls are on the floor. They never give up and play hard for 32 minutes. You can be up 30, and they still think they are going to beat you and keep coming at you. That’s a credit to Coach Himmer and the belief he has instilled in those girls. They remain calm, cool and collected even when they are down.”

FOREST HILLS (46): Gdula 3 3-6 9, Maul 7 1-1 16, Myers 0 2-2 2, Pcola 5 0-0 14, Lashinsky 2 0-0 5, Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Baumgarder 0 0-0 0, Faith 0 0-0 0. Totals — 17 6-9 46.

PENN CAMBRIA (59): Ronan 1 0-2 3, McCoy 7 0-0 18, Ava. LeMaster 4 0-0 10, Fisher 2 0-0 5, Beard 5 2-3 12, Ave. LeMaster 2 0-0 5, Rabatin 1 1-2 3, Andersen 1 1-2 3. Totals — 23 4-9 59.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Forest Hills 19 5 9 13 — 46

Penn Cambria 8 16 15 20 — 59

3-point goals: Forest Hills 6 (Pcola 4, Maul, Lashinsky); Penn Cambria 9 (McCoy 4, Ava. LeMaster 2, Ave. LeMaster, Fisher, Ronan).

Records: Forest Hills (16-8); Penn Cambria (19-5).

Officials: Terri Piatak, Vicki Markiewicz, George Figura.