NEW PARIS – The last time Palmyra's girls basketball program had a shot to pocket a state championship, the Cougars were battling Deer Lakes in the old barn, Hersheypark Arena. The year was 1985 and Wham! was killing it with “Careless Whisper.”
Now, the bright-eyed and seriously-defensive Cougars are one win away from another chance after forwards Carly Richardson, Josie Stovall and the unstoppable rest stormed by Elizabeth Forward 51-44 Saturday at Chesnut Ridge High School.
Richardson, who did most of her damage from the free-throw line, and Stovall, who did a little bit of everything, each recorded double-doubles for pace-setting Palmyra (25-4), which jumped into next week's Final Four where either WPIAL champ Blackhawk or District 10 headliner Hickory awaits.
Richardson's 17 points and 12 rebounds certainly paced the Cougars, but no less than eight Cougars played significant roles in this quarterfinal scalp. And all kept their composure throughout, a virtue that undercut the talented Warriors (22-5) in the tell-tale third period.
The EF bench was charged with a pair of technical fouls – the Warriors were tagged with three in all – that helped Palmyra extend its lead to 10 with 8:57 to go.
Stovall's effort – the sophomore poured in 14 points and collected 11 caroms – was welcomed considering Palmyra starting forward Kristen Smoluk, one of Ron Berman's go-to performers, separated her left shoulder just 1:48 into the game. After on-site personnel attempted to reset the injury, Smoluk was transported to a local hospital.
PIVOTAL SEQUENCE
Overcoming adversity is nothing new to Berman's current assembly, and the Cougars found a little in the second half. With Richardson locked on EF forward Natalie Fekula, Warrior guards Olivia Barkley (14 points) and Abigail Sporio helped the District 7 rep stay tight until a Stovall stickback started a 6-0 run early in the third.
Stovall stuck in a Katie Dembrowski assist, then watched Maria Tukis drop a hard leaner to forge a 31-24 Palmyra lead. Dembrowski's triple from the right wing, coupled with Richardson's three-point play widened the gap. And after EF coach Sam Kosanovich and one of his assistants were tossed following a pair of technicals, the Cougars suddenly led 42-30 entering the fourth.
“When you take two coaches off the bench like that, it has to help us.” said Berman.
Although the Warriors pressed back, cutting the lead in half with a 6-0 run, Dembrowski righted the Palmyra ship again, rolling around a screen for a leaner at 4:55. EF made one final push, actually barreling to within 47-44, but the final 1:13 was reserved for the Cougars' bonus.
STATS FRENZY
Palmyra, winners of five straight, converted 20 of 31 attempts from the free-throw line. The Cougars had 20 more attempts than Elizabeth Forward (7-for-11). … Guards Dembrowski and Tukis, the tandem handling most of the deep pressure applied by the Warriors, shared 10 points. … Stovall banked 10 of her 14 points in the opening half. … Fekula, one of two Division I recruits (Soprio) on the EF roster, also chipped in 11 rebounds.
THEY'RE SAYING
“I think we were all a little bit shocked seeing Kristen go down. She's such a great player, a great friend. I think we had to refocus a little at halftime and we talked about winning this for Kristen. We were going to work as hard as we could to get the win.” – Palmyra F Carly Richardson
“After that [D3 quarterfinal] loss to West Perry, we've just focused and got getter. Defense has never really been a question but we've gotten better offensively.” – Palmyra coach Ron Berman
Epler on Twitter: @threejacker