Lady Hornets top rival Mansfield to NTL Showdown semis

By: Ed Weaver | PIAA District IV | February 15, 2019

The Wellsboro Varsity Girls Basketball team put together a 26-point fourth quarter to beat rival North Penn-Mansfield 50-34 in the NTL Showdown semi-finals on Thursday, February 14.

Both teams struggled to score in the first quarter as they combined for just 6 total points, with Mansfield leading 4-2 after the opening 8 minutes. Both teams settled down in the second and were able to connect on more shots with the Lady Hornets holding a slim 13-12 lead at halftime. Wellsboro opened up a little distance between themselves and Mansfield in the third quarter as they outscored the Lady Tigers 11-5 to lead 24-17, then exploded in the fourth quarter to put the game firmly in their control.

Wellsboro scored 26 points in the final 8 minutes, with nearly half of them coming from the foul line as the Lady Tigers tried to extend the game and make the Lady Hornets earn their points the old-fashioned way. Wellsboro did so, shooting 14-for-17 from the line, en route to their 5th straight victory.

Senior Emma Poirier tied her season and career-highs with 28 points on the night to lead all scorers. Junior Liza Manning added 10, sophomore Jena Boyce scored 6, junior Cathryn Brought scored 4, and senior Dani Hunt added 2 points.

Jaime Palmer (11) and JoAnne McNamara (10) led the Lady Tigers while Lizzi Welch scored 6, Jeanette Montefusco added 3, and Shaelyn Berguson and Emma Palmer added 2 points each.

The win improves the Lady Hornets' record to 14-9 on the season and sends them back to the Showdown finals for the second striaght year. This time they will take on Sayre, 55-32 winners over Athens, at Mansfield University on Saturday, February 16 at 6:00 p.m.

North Penn-Mansfield travels to Sullivan County later this evening before next week's District IV Class AA playoffs.

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