Hergenrother powers Mooney over South Range

February 10, 2017 at 12:05a.m.

BEAVER TOWNSHIP

With tournament time looming, those involved with Cardinal Mooney’s 55-53 victory over South Range on Thursday agreed that fourth-quarter pressure can be a good thing.

“It’s so important,” said Mooney coach Erica Wilson, especially since both teams were missing a key starter (Carolyn Kay for the Cardinals, Maddie Durkin for the Raiders. “To not have [Kay] against South Range when we only beat them by two [in January], we were really concerned.

“Lauren Frommelt really stepped up, she put 10 points up, that might have been her season high,” Wilson said. “She answered.”

So did point guard Camden Hergenrother, whose 21 points included a 3-pointer in the opening seconds of overtime. It was the only basket in the bonus session.

“It felt amazing,” Hergenrother said. “It seems like I play best when I’m under pressure.”

Wilson said Hergenrother had permission to fire away.

“You have to acknowledge when you have a player who is feeling it,” Wilson said. “We knew she was, so we gave her the green light, that if they were 10 feet off keep shooting the ball.”

The Cardinals (10-8) never trailed again. The Raiders made it 51-50 on two Felicia Gaeta free throws, but Caitlyn Sapp responded with two of her own.

After Sam Patrone and Frommelt exchanged free throws, the Raiders’ Taylor Naples made two with 17 seconds remaining to make it 54-53. Sapp made another free throw with five seconds to go and the Raiders were unable to get the ball over the half-court line for a quality shot before time expired.

“This is going to help us, that experience of the pressure being on you,” South Range coach Tony Matisi said. “We always look to Maddie but we had to look for somebody else tonight.”

For two-and-a-half quarters, the Raiders were in control, opening up a 36-26 lead with a 7-0 run to start the third quarter. Bri Modic’s 3-pointer and a free throw combined with Taylor Naples’ power move for a basket gave the Raiders (11-9) the 10-point edge.

It didn’t last long. After Hergenrother scored a basket, Frommelt hit a 3-pointer.

“I knew they were going to make a run,” Matisi said. “That 10-point lead was beautiful, but two trips down they hit a two and a three.

“And I wondered how we were going to react,” Matisi said. “We got a little tight, started not being as care-free on offense.”

The Cardinals closed the third quarter with a 6-2 run, then took the lead for the first time when Hergenrother opened the fourth quarter with a basket.

“I think we all enjoy a little bit of pressure,” Hergenrother said. “It makes us play better as a team.”

Her base-line jumper with 53 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 48 to force overtime.

Also for the Cardinals, Sapp scored nine points and Taylor Martin eight.

For the Raiders, Modic led with 15 points. Also scoring in double figures were Naples with 13 and Patrone with 10.