Tigers rally to top H-L in OT

ATTICA- After a slow start and trailing 20-9 to visiting Hopewell-Loudon in the season opener, Seneca East got it going to pull off a 56-51 overtime win Friday night.The nine first-quarter points for SE (1-0) came from a pass between Cami Lantz to Alexa Snay for two points, Luella Burkholder made one of her foul shots, and Madi Smith and Izzy Stockmaster both made one 3-pointer each. For the Chieftains, the 20 points came from Madison Holcomb with four points, Olivia Bishop with five points, including a 3-pointer, Sidney Brickner with four points, Ariyanna Bishop with four points, Karsyn Synder with a basket, and Peyton Wildhart with a foul shot. "The first five minutes are the biggest unknown. We had no idea what to expect. Our nerves got the best of us in the first quarter. We were down 20-9 but our girls are resilient and we have been in that situation before and battled back and came back tonight." Tigers coach George Parks said. That lead for the Chieftains would not last past the first quarter as the Tigers battled back in the second quarter. Jordyn Enders scored the first 3-pointer of the night for SE, bringing the score up to 12. Burkholder made both of her foul shots. The momentum for the Tigers kept up as Smith and Karli Foos would score three points each. What brought SE up over the Chieftains by the end of the quarter was the six points that Stockmaster added. "We did everything we were supposed to do in the first quarter. We got after them, created turnovers, and went after them defensively," H-L coach Steve Suter said. "We knocked down some shots. Then we lost focus in the second quarter. We started rushing our half-court offense. We took a couple of shots, they didn't go in. SE started shooting some threes and next thing you know, they are back in the ball game."It was a one-point difference of 26-25 by the half. "Seneca East shot lights out. They had seven threes by halftime. I don't know how many by the end of the game. That's the difference in the game. They knocked down shots. We had too many dry spells, and we ended up losing," Suter said. While in the third quarter, SE only put nine points, and H-L managed to do the same. The fourth quarter, the teams tied at 49. To get to that point was back and forth, but once Stockmaster made both of her foul shots with 1:20 left, SE hit 49 points first. Right after, Synder shot a basket, making it 48 to 49, but once Bishop made her foul shot, it was tied. The tie would be broken once Lantz shot a 3-pointer, making it 52. Bishop made a foul shot again, bringing the Chieftains to 50. Between Snay making a two-point shot from inside the arc and Burkholder making her final foul shots, that brought the victory to SE. The only shot that H-L made to bring it to 51 was another Bishop foul shot. "I was planning on making a couple of foul shots. We were 2 for 8 in the last minute, and they made a shot, and we had a look and a second chance shot and we just came up short. They executed the final play but it didn't go in. We tried to make sure they couldn't get looks but we forced enough turnovers to keep us in the game." said Parks. "I loved the fact that we did. I told the girls in the locker room, that's the positive thing to take from this; we battled back and we were down pretty much the last three or four minutes and we were down by four and cut it to two, down by four and cut it to one and to get to the point of possibly winning it."For the Chieftains, they are viewing it as a learning experience. "It's the first game, and that's where you find out what you are all about. Scrimmages are scrimmages; games are games. We did a lot of good things. We have to get better defensively, and be patient on the offensive end, which that comes with time and practice," Suter said. "Tonight, I told the girls, I wouldn't mind shooting 30 3-pointers. We didn't do well on rebounds, which was not our gameplan. We have to get better with second chance shots. Defensively, everyone knows what we do. After the first quarter,we got quite a few steals, and that change the momentum of the entire game," Parks said.