Scahill lifts Hubbard to OT upset of Salem

Michelle Dykes scored 22 points to lead Liberty past Southeast.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- With about five seconds left in Wednesday's Division II sectional opener and her basketball career on the line, Hubbard senior guard Tressa Scahill took a pass from her teammate Sophie Paddock, six feet behind the 3-point line, released the ball and ... hoped.
Did she think it was going in?
"I had no idea," she said. "I just prayed."
It went in. And with that shot, against huge odds, the Eagles tied Salem at 35.
"After that shot, I knew we'd win," Scahill said. "We all knew. We had the momentum."
Of course, they had to survive a last-second scare in regulation first. Salem junior Katie Scullion took the inbound pass with two seconds left, heaved a shot just inside the 3-point line and ... it went in.
Problem was, she was called for traveling first, ending the Quakers celebration. Scahill did the rest, scoring six of Hubbard's eight points in overtime (and assisting on the other two) as the eighth-seeded Eagles upset third-seeded Salem 43-37 at Fitch High. Sixth-seeded Liberty beat No. 5 Southeast in the other game, 59-52.
"Enough excitement for everyone?" asked Hubbard coach Mike Cappuzzello after the game. "That was something."
Minutes earlier, his season looked lost. Although the fourth quarter was close the whole way, Salem took a three-point lead with two minutes left and was intent to drain the clock. Hubbard, meanwhile, had just two fouls and spent the next minute intentionally fouling Quakers to get into a one-and-one situation.
Salem had three opportunities to put the game away, but missed the front end of the one-and-one each time before splitting the next four free throws to take a five-point lead with 45 seconds left.
That's when Scahill took over, hitting a stepback 3-pointer to cut it to two. (Amazingly, it was Hubbard's first field goal of the quarter.) Scullion then made one of two free throws to set up Scahill's final shot.
"It was my senior year and I didn't want to go out like this," Scahill said. "Salem has beat us in the tournament every year I've been in school, so I had it set in my mind that we were gonna win."
Paddock added seven points, 11 rebounds and three steals for the Eagles (16-5), who will play Liberty at noon Saturday.
Zahra Scullion had 11 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and five steals to lead Salem (15-6), which was without injured players Kelly Roelen and Amy Scullion. Leah Perry added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
In the other semifinal, Liberty overcame a sluggish first quarter to blitz the Portage Trail Conference champions in the second quarter, outscoring the Pirates 19-7 to take a 24-14 halftime lead.
Senior guard Michelle Dykes led the Leopards (15-6) with 22 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and three steals as Liberty's press proved too much for the Pirates (17-4).
"Our advantage was that they were slow," said Dykes. "We had to use our quickness to our advantage."
When asked if she thought it was the best game of her career, Dykes smiled and said, "Yeah, I think it was. It might have been the last game I ever played, and I didn't want that to happen."
Liberty's pressure forced 18 Southeast turnovers. ("If we don't run," said Leopards coach John Hritz, "we're in trouble.") While scouting the Pirates, Hritz noticed they lived on the perimeter.
"So I said, let's go man-to-man," he said. "We live and die with the press."
The teams combined for 49 fouls, including 32 in the second half, and they combined to shoot 66 free throws.
"Good heavens," Hritz said, looking at the scorebook. "I didn't realize there were that many."
Liberty made 23-of-42 from the line (including 13-of-20 in the fourth quarter) while Southeast shot 15-of-24 from the charity stripe.
Brittany Armour added 16 points for Liberty, which also got key contributions from several bench players including Ashley Venable (five points, two rebounds) and Melissa Dykes (six points, three rebounds, three steals).
Hannah Harnar had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates, while Lindsay Speidel added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
scalzo@vindy.com