It wasn’t pretty.
But all that mattered was when the buzzer sounded at the end of overtime, Central Bucks East would survive the upset, which it did.
In a sluggish, then exciting back and forth game, which consisted of multiple lead changes as the final seconds of the fourth quarter neared, the Patriots prevailed, defeating Central Bucks West 35-32 in four and a half quarters of play.
“You know, you get into spots where you’re down, and there is no panic, right. We know we have kids that can make shots, kids that can make plays,” CB East head coach Liz Potash said. “I think what really hurt us in the second half was that we couldn’t score. (We) were able to do just enough to get it done.”
After creating a strong lead for themselves in the first half – the Patriots led the Bucks 23-10, thanks to a team-leading eight points from their top scorer, Anna Barry – they had a rough third quarter.
CB East (13-2) was held scoreless in the eight minutes following halftime, and that allowed CB West (5-11) to diminish the 13-point deficit to tie the game.
“All of a sudden we weren’t making shots, and then we couldn’t pressure them,” Potash said. “I thought we had a lot of good looks, a lot of looks we had in the second quarter, but a lot of in and outs. We would love to get some more scoring around the basket, but even those we weren’t able to finish. It was a struggle.”
The Patriots’ scoring drought continued all the way to around the 4-minute mark in the final quarter of regulation. That was until freshman Haley Moran directly countered a basket from the Bucks, returning the score to even. Then, with 2:54 left in the fourth quarter, Barry hit a deep three – roughly 3 feet beyond the arc – that gave CB East a three-point lead.
“That was really exciting, because I hadn’t seen a shot go in since the first half,” Barry said.
“So, being able to put that in and finally get us a score, I feel like got us momentum and got our energy back to help us pull out the win.”
The win hadn’t been solidified just yet, however. The Bucks remained relentless. They took a 29-28 lead with under two minutes left to play when Gabi Senior split two Patriots defenders under the net with a Euro-step layup. Aniya McDaniel then sunk a mid-range jumpshot from the middle of the paint, extending their lead to three.
It seemed to be over, but CB East was determined.
With 13 seconds left, sophomore Natalie Berndt inbounded the ball from the right sideline to Barry. Barry then dribbled three steps and found Sydney Ralph in the left-hand corner, who hit the game-tying 3-point shot to send the game into overtime.
Despite allowing the two baskets that gave CB West a late lead, East’s defense in the fourth quarter, and in overtime, was crucial in its win.
“In the fourth we just said that we need to lock in and make sure our defense stays the same, but try and get some scores, like try do whatever we can to get some open shots,” Barry said. “We just said to each other like we just have to work together and get it done.”
“Our ability to push through and keep it a close game, when we literally didn’t score in the third quarter. ... It shows our maturity. Being able to stay in the game with our defense is huge.”
The Patriots will need that maturity and defense to continue on Friday, Jan. 26, when they take on Central Bucks South at 7 p.m. The Bucks travel to North Penn on Friday.
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