LEWISTOWN — Forget about luck.
Homer-Center celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by flexing its skill in a 51-15 victory over District 1 runner-up Sacred Heart Academy in the PIAA Class 2A girls’ basketball quarterfinals at Mifflin County High School on Friday.
It was a shot at redemption for the Wildcats, who bowed out of state playoffs a season ago in the quarterfinal round, and they didn’t miss.
“It sucked to lose after making it that far last year,” Homer-Center junior Alaina Fabin said. “We didn’t want to feel that way again. I’m glad that we get to keep going this year.”
Molly Kosmack, a 6-foot-1 senior, unloaded 17 points while holding the Lions’ leading scorer, Keara McCaffrey, to seven, and Fabin scored 15, including a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter that set the tone for a dominating performance by a lockdown Homer-Center team.
“Just Molly and her performance, the type of player she is, she wanted that challenge,” Wildcats coach Nick Moore said. “That’s how Molly always is. She works hard. Can’t say enough positive about her.”
Fabin drained a 3 to kick off the game less than a minute in, hit a long jumper to make it 7-4 at 3:25 and posted her second 3 around 1:47 to give the Wildcats a 10-4 lead after the first quarter.
“It feels great to finally hit some shots that I’ve been missing the past couple games,” Fabin said. “It just felt so great.”
“We came out slow against Chartiers-Houston,” Moore said of the fast start. “Part of that was because of them defensively. They played us hard, they were in a Box and 1. We settled down and got going on them, but it doesn’t always go that way. So it’s important to get out to a fast start so you don’t have to mess with that.”
The second quarter belonged to Kosmack as Homer settled into its game on both ends of the court, overwhelming an already panicked Sacred Heart squad that couldn’t control the ball.
Kosmack took a pass from senior Macy Sardone in for a layup to start the quarter, gave the Wildcats a 10-point lead at 14-4 with another 30 seconds later, and Fabin brought the Homer-Center faithful that made the 2-hour trek to Lewistown to its feet with a huge block that she carried down floor for a basket at 5:47.
“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Moore laughed. “She’s just been a treat to have. She’s been a difference-maker for these past three or four weeks. She’s just playing so well right now, and it’s unbelievable.”
Kosmack scored the Wildcats’ next six points and 15 in the quarter, Sardone scored on a reverse layup in a game the season’s leading-scorer struggled to find the net and Homer-Center took a 23-point lead into halftime, 30-7, after capitalizing on 10 first-half turnovers by the Lions.
The Wildcats’ smothering press continued to rattle Sacred Heart coming out of the half as the Lions were held to a single basket in a 12-2 third quarter. Fabin sank five straight points before McCaffrey hit a layup at 5:21 that started a nearly six-minute scoring drought for Sacred Heart.
“I can’t say enough about our effort,” Moore said. “We bought into the press, and it was effective. I know Coach (Paul) Pohley from the boys’ side is at home happy watching this probably because he loves that press. It was fun to watch, and they played it well. If we play like that from here on out, we’re going to be hard to beat.”
Sardone found Kosmack wide open under the basket at 4:16 in the third quarter to enact the mercy-rule running clock with the Wildcats leading 39-9.
“We’ve had some leads and lost them throughout the season,” Fabin said, “so it was really nice that we built that lead and kept it throughout. I’m impressed with how our team played.”
In a 9-6 fourth quarter by Homer-Center, Ashlyn Kerr posted back-to-back buckets for the 48-11 advantage before sophomore Hannah Arone came off the bench and netted a free throw and a 2-point shot for the final score of 51-15.
“The thing about an Ashlyn Kerr is that she’s always in the moment,” Moore said. “She’s focused. She’s all about the competition. She’s a competitive player, and she loves it and takes it head on and you can see it in the way she plays.”
The Wildcats won the rebound game 23-16, committed only five turnovers to Sacred Heart’s (15-10) 14 and went 13-for-19 from the line when the Lions connected on 1 of their 4 attempts.
Next up for Homer-Center (23-7) is Montrose (23-6), the District 2 champion and 45-29 winners over Faith Christian Academy, in the Final Four on Tuesday.
