GREENFIELD, Ind. —
Pendleton Heights junior guard Tiffany Wertz sparked a fourth-quarter rally in girls sectional basketball play Friday and lifted the Arabians into tonight’s title game.
PH scored 29 points in the fourth quarter and erased a six-point deficit with five minutes to play in a 63-51 win over Richmond.
Wertz had a pair of final-period steals. She converted them into a basket and a pair of free throws. She also hit a pair of free throws down the stretch as the Arabians hit 16-of-20 from the charity stripe over the final eight minutes.
“We’re a team,” said Wertz after the game. “As a team we bring great skills. We are a great team because we play together. We always pick each other up.”
On this night, it took every player as the Arabians had one of their worst statistical games of the season.
For the second straight game, PH failed to convert in a first quarter where its foe had multiple miscues. The Red Devils turned the ball over nine times in that period and still led 14-9 at the first break. The only Arabians points were a trio of 3-pointers, two by Wertz. In the first half, the Arabians hit just 8-of-28.
“What Richmond did with the press was, even when they didn’t force a turnover in the first half, they still caused us to play quick,” said PH coach Shari Doud. “We shot 18 3s and 10 2-pointers. Those numbers should be flipped. We wanted to get the shot off before they stole it from us.”
Still the Arabians felt good to be up 24-21 at halftime. That feeling was fleeting. In the first 3:30 of the third quarter, PH had two shots, no points and four turnovers to fall behind again. Richmond led 36-34 after three quarters when the Pendleton defense allowed the Devils to go coast-to-coast for an uncontested layup in the quarter’s final five seconds.
Richmond pressed the advantage to six in the first three minutes of the final quarter before the Arabians found the correct gear and pulled out the win.
“I’m very proud of how we battled,” said Doud. “We didn’t panic. We know that we can come back even if we’re down.”
Kelsey Hubble didn’t have her normal shooting night from the field (4-of-14) but cashed in big time with 11-of-15 free throws for a game-high 21 points. Wertz was next with 14 and Quincey Gary added 11. With Gary and Kiawana Cottrell suffering first-quarter foul trouble, many of the bench players saw extended minutes and played well, including Rachelle Tibbett, who hit both of her shots for five points.
The Arabians will get a Madison County Tourney rematch in the sectional title game against Anderson. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.
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Tiffany Wertz draws a foul from Richmond's Brooklyn Taylor as she drives for a layup. Wertz would hit both her free throws giving the Arabians a one point lead and sparking a fourth-quarter rally. Don Knight
Discussion
Wertz rallies Arabians to final
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