NTL GIRLS' BASKETBALL: TOWANDA PULLS OUT WIN OVER WELLSBORO (2025-01-07)
BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports ReportTOWANDA — It may not have been pretty, but Towanda girls’ basketball ended their 4-game losing streak as they held off a late Wellsboro charge, 48-44, during NTL action Monday.
“I’m just happy for the kids,” said Towanda coach Rob Gentile. “They really worked hard for that one. Our tonight was relentless, and just play basketball, and trying to have some fun doing it. I’ve said it a million times, we’re not the greatest shooting team in the world, but I tell them, just keep plugging.”
They overcome a rough shooting night - they shot just 25-percent from the field - with an aggressive defense that had 21 steals. They did a good job speeding up Wellsboro’s guards, and turned those turnovers into points enough times to make a difference.
“We still have got to find ways to learn how to win,” said Gentile. “We can’t leave (Chloe) Brandenburg, who is probably the best shooting guard in our league, and we left her open a few too many times, but a lot of it was the defense that we were playing, too. I’m just really proud of the kids, they fought for that one.”
Brandenburg finished with a game high 23 points, 12 of them in the fourth as she hit three 3-balls, but Towanda’s Payton Perry tightened things up down the stretch, blocking her twice on three point attempts.
“(Perry’s) not shooting the ball well, but she just keeps competing, and playing hard,” said Gentile. “She’s a tough kid. She’s doing other things, a lot of other things for us, controlling the pace of play, getting us into our defenses, and she’s become a pretty good passer, and decision maker for us as well.”
When they were struggling to score in the first half it was their freshmen who bailed them out. Reese Sullivan and Mary-Kate Eberlin combined for nine of Towanda’s 11 second half points as they rallied for the 1-point halftime lead.
“Our young kids are learning the game,” Gentile remarked. “They’re really competing, and playing hard to compete in practice. We know they’re going to make mistakes, and we had that discussion before we started. I think we have a confidence issue right now, and hopefully some kids figured somethings out tonight, that they’re a lot better than maybe they give themselves credit for, but I was really proud of their effort.”
Brynn Woodruff led the Knights with 12 points, and three steals, as Perry finished with 11 points, four boards, six steals, and three blocks.
Eberlin notched eight points, six boards, and six steals, with Sullivan getting four points.
“Mary-Kate Eberlin is never going to be the biggest kid on the floor, she’ll probably always be the smallest kid, but she’s all heart,” said Gentile. “She gets after it, just like the rest of them do.”
Karis Flynn had six points, five boards, and two steals, Mya Maynard finished with five points, five boards, and three steals, with Kennedy Heyer netting two points to go with two blocks.
Paige Logsdon and Teagan Noninger had 10 points each, with Lily Wagner scoring one.
It was a slow start with Wellsboro taking a 4-2 lead halfway through the first quarter. A Flynn 3-ball put Towanda up 5-4, but the lead was short lived as Wellsboro got another lay-up on their next possession.
A Woodruff free throw tied things up at six, but Logdson found Brandenburg for a lay-up to put the Hornets up 8-6. An Eberlin free throw made it an 8-7 game at the first horn.
Back to back Wellsboro buckets to start the second saw them go up 12-7, but Reese answered for the Knights, scoring back to back baskets of her own to cut it to 12-11.
A 3-0 Hornet spurt put them up 15-11, however, a smooth post move from Woodruff, followed by an Eberlin 3-ball saw the Knights take a 16-15 lead.
Brandenburg put Wellsboro back up 17-16 with a jumper, but an Eberlin runner made it 18-17 Towanda at the half.
Coming out of the break Brandenburg hit a 3-ball, followed by Logsdon getting a driving lay-up as the Hornets took a 22-18 lead.
Buckets by Perry, and Heyer tied things up at 22 again. After a Wellsboro lay-up the Knights found the stroke from deep as Flynn, and Maynard both hit bombs to make it 28-24 Towanda.
“I had to call a timeout in the third quarter to remind them of just some fundamental facts, and then we came out and banged two in a row, and it got us some momentum,” explained Gentile.
Baskets by Logsdon and Brandenburg tied the game up at 28, but a Woodruff 3-ball, followed by an Eberlin jumper gave the Knights a five point lead.
A Wellsboro put back made it 33-30 going into the fourth.
The two teams traded baskets early in the frame, but Towanda would go on a 4-0 run thanks to two freebies out of Woodruff, and a Maynard jumper, going up 39-32 with four minutes left in the game.
That’s when Brandenburg started to heat up, hitting a 3-ball to make it a 4-point deficit.
Woodruff scored off an Eberlin assist at the other end, then Perry got a driving lay-up with just under three minutes to play, extending their lead to 43-35.
Wellsboro didn’t go away, as Brandenburg nailed back to back threes, sandwiched around a Logsdon block, to cue the deficit to 43-41 with 1:50 left to play.
Woodruff would get sent to the line, and make both for a 4-point lead with 1:47 on the clock.
The teams traded turnovers in the open court until Brandenburg was sent to the line, making 1-of-2 with just over a minute to play.
Towanda’s next possession ended in a turnover, but when Brandenburg went for the tying 3-ball Perry blocked her.
She would end up with the ball, and was sent to the line, where she missed both, but Woodruff came up with the offensive board. Perry was sent to the line again, this time making 1-of-2 to push the lead back to four points.
Brandenburg made it a 2-point game with a lay-up with 15 seconds left, but Towanda was able to run 13 seconds off before Wellsboro was able to foul.
Perry went to the line, and nailed both, with two seconds left, securing the win.
Towanda won the JV game, 51-10, as Ali Hollett had 18 points on six 3-pointers, while Sullivan scored 13.
This was just Towanda’s (3-5) second home game of the season, and the Black Knights will be on the road for five straight games over the next two weeks, beginning with a trip to Troy on Wednesday.
“It’s not going to get any easier,” said Gentile. “You’ve got to play what’s in front of you, and we’re going to go and compete with Troy as hard as we can, and we’ll take what we can get.”
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
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