History repeated itself once again when the Susquehannock girls basketball team lost 48-46 to West Perry in the District 3 Class AAA championship game on Saturday, March 1.
All five seniors, Makenzie Fancher, Shannon Druck, Katie Wagner, Abbey Barnhart, and Jess Voltaggio, were all a part of the stinging loss in the district finals last season when the Warriors fell to Palmyra, 46-30.
“This year, losing felt a lot worse,” said Barnhart. “It’s our senior year, and we now have no more chances to win districts.”
Susquehannock fell behind early in the first quarter and trailed by nine points at halftime. All the momentum seemed to shift from the Mustangs to the Warriors in the third quarter with Wagner scoring her 1,001 point drawing Susquehannock in to a one-point deficit. With 6:05 left to play in the game the Warriors finally grabbed the lead, but they unfortunately couldn’t hold onto it. “We always seem to have a lot more energy coming into the second half,” said Barnhart. “We came out and had no intention of giving up.”
With a couple of turnovers combined with multiple scoreless possessions, the Warriors were unable to stop the Mustangs from making key shots to make the final score 48-46.
“Basketball is a game of possessions,” said head coach Dave Schreiner according to the York Dispatch. “We had probably four bad possessions in a row. We have a turnover and then they come down and hit a 3. And then we throw the ball away twice in a row.”
West Perry’s Megan Smith had much to do with Susquehannock’s loss, the senior forward scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half alone, quieting the Warrior defense. However, Smith was held to only 4 points in the second half, thanks to Druck’s outstanding defensive effort.
So far this year, the Warriors have nabbed a piece of the Division II title, lost in the semifinal round of the YAIAA tournament, and finished second in the District tournament. But, the Warriors seem confident that they will learn from the past and make it far in the state tournament.
Other players have stepped up in key situations for the Lady Warriors. Barnhart scored 12 points in a win against Northeastern in the first round of Districts. Voltaggio was a key factor in the Warriors’ semifinal win against Fleetwood, scoring 8 points. Sophomore Ashley Stone has also stepped up, scoring the buzzer-beating three pointer to win the quarterfinal game against West York.
“Abbey is so aggressive, and Ashley shoots very well,” said Schreiner according to GametimePA. “Jess, these last couple of games has been stepping up and getting a lot of time and doing really well. She’s been crucial these past couple of games.”
With the sting from the loss behind them, Susquehannock looked to make a long run in states and dominate their first game of the tournament against Palmyra, who coincidentally beat the Warriors last year in the District championship game. Despite their 18 point first quarter, Susquehannock could not hold on and ended their season 23-6, losing to the Cougars 49-40.
With 2:23 to play in the first quarter, Wagner suffered an injury to the eye and spent almost the entire second quarter on the bench, changing the momentum of the game. The Warriors only held a 3 point lead at halftime, and lost the lead for the entire game with just 2 minutes into the 3rd quarter. Wagner also fouled out of the game with just 2 minutes to play.
The Warriors could not stop Palmyra’s Kristen Smoluk who dominated the game with 17 points and ended the five seniors’ high school career.
“They have brought this program a long, long way,” said Schreiner of the five seniors.
Fancher led the team with 13 points, Druck recorded four points and five rebounds, Voltaggio had four rebounds and a blocked shot, and Barnhart followed with nine points and eight rebounds.
Schreiner is counting on the underclassmen to carry out what the seniors have started.
“It will be a new beginning,” said Schreiner according to GametimePA. “Next year, I’m not looking at it as a rebuilding year, but as a reloading year.”
