RECAP >> Making the long trip north to the Poconos and playing without one of its top players, there probably weren’t many around the area that gave Emmaus much of a chance to knock off a one-loss Pocono Mountain West team on its home floor in the opening-round of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playoffs.
And that was perfectly fine for head coach Kelsey Gallagher’s team because they believed they could and that’s all that mattered.
And now the Hornets find themselves in the Final 4 and an opportunity to play on the area’s biggest basketball stage.
Seventh-seeded Emmaus pulled off the stunner heard around the Lehigh Valley last night as they went on the road and knocked off the No. 2 seed Panthers 59-54 in overtime in the quarterfinals.
The Hornets, who were without the services of fab freshman Gabby De Vita (out with a concussion), outscored the hosts 11-6 in the extra session to pull out the victory and avenge for an earlier-season three-point loss (41-38) to PM West.
More importantly, Emmaus (14-9 overall) earned a date in the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Monday at the PP&L Center in Allentown against Central Catholic, the No. 3 seed, who defeated sixth-seeded Nazareth, 48-39. The game will be carried LIVE on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network beginning at 5:40 p.m. with the pregame show.
The Hornets used a balanced scoring attack in last night’s win placing three players in double figures. Junior Mya Cooper led Emmaus in scoring for the second straight game as she matched her career-high with 16 points, while junior Taylor Griffith added 13 and senior Paige Inman also had 13, including a 9-for-14 effort from the free-throw line. Sophomore Cassandra Doemling added eight points.
Emmaus led 14-12 after the first quarter and held a one-point lead at the break (25-24). PM West outscored the Hornets 13-9 in the third to take a 37-34 lead into the fourth before Emmaus outscored the Panthers 14-11 to force overtime.
PM West, which was riding an 18-game winning streak, had three players reach double figures led by senior Vataijah Davis who had a game-high 21 points. Alyssa Ford added 15 and Anaisah Malone 10 for the Panthers (21-2) who will now be off until the District XI Class 6A Tournament gets underway.
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Emmaus 59, PM West 54 (OT)
Em – Paige Inman 2 9-14 13, Taylor Griffith 4 2-2 13, Mya Cooper 5 4-9 16, Cassandra Doemling 3 2-2 8, Sofie Laird 0 3-4 3, Emma Naccarato 1 0-0 3, Olive Whitney 0 0-0 0, Julia Adams 0 0-0 0, Sierra Stevens 0 3-4 3. Totals: FG 15, FT 23-35, 3s – 6 (Griffith 3, Cooper 2, Naccarato)
PMW – Alyssa Ford 5 2-2 15, Aaliyah Cancel 2 0-1 4, Anaisah Malone 3 2-2 10, Sehaila Jones 1 2-2 4, Vataijah Davis 9 3-8 21, Autumn Smith 0 0-0 0, Brianne Steidl 0 0-0 0, Mia Bowden 0 0-0 0. Totals: FG 20, FT 9-15, 3s – 5 (Ford 3, Malone 2)
Em – 14-11-9-14-11 – 59
PMW – 12-12-13-11-6 – 54