Pa. Girls: O'Hara survives a scare; Downingtown West gets big win

Cardinal O'Hara is finding the road to a possible state title becomes a little bumpy the closer it gets to Hershey.

Last night, the Lions (25-2) almost hit a pothole in the form of Wilson-West Lawn in a PIAA State Class AAAA second-round game at Coatesville but survived, 36-34.

The District 12 champions built a lead but saw the Bulldogs (21-8) use a 13-5 advantage in the fourth quarter to forge a 34-34 tie with 18 seconds left.

The Lions then ran a designed play for Alysha Womack, who got off a 15-foot jumper from the baseline that missed, but Stephanie Holzer was fouled on a put-back attempt with six-tenths of a second left and made both free throws to end the game.

Holzer, a 6-foot-4 senior forward who has signed a letter-of-intent with Vanderbilt University, finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Holzer came into the game averaging 18.2 points and 12.5 rebounds, but the Bulldogs held her output down by controlling the tempo through much of the game.

"We also contributed by not making very many of our shots," O'Hara assistant coach Chris Genther said.

O'Hara, ranked No. 7 in the nation and No. 1 in the state's Class AAAA, had the advantage on Wilson-West Lawn in terms of Division I prospects, with all five starters going to Division I schools.

Holzer, a McDonald's all-American, and fellow senior Womack, who averages 10.8 points a game, will play at Monmouth.

The other senior guard, Alicia Manning, is bound for Lafayette, while junior guard Natasha Cloud has committed to Maryland and senior Danielle Callahan will play at La Salle.

The win earned the Lions a trip to the state quarterfinals Friday against Delaware County rival Lower Merion. The site of that game has not been determined.

In other AAAA games:

At Gov. Mifflin Intermediate School, Downingtown West stunned District 3 champion Central Dauphin, 42-39, getting 26 points from Jessica Beswick.

The game was tied at 37 with a minute left before Beswick hit a free throw to put the Whippets (20-9) up for good. With 25 seconds left, Beswick hit two more free throws to extend a 40-39 lead into the final margin. Central Dauphin finished its season at 29-2.

At the same venue, Cheltenham jumped out to a 16-6 lead in the first quarter and held on for a 43-38 win over Northampton. The District 1 runner-up Panthers (27-2) got 14 points from 5-3 junior guard Shayla Felder, who scored six during the first quarter.