MS girls bball beats rival North Penn

By: Ed Weaver | NTL Sports | March 28, 2012

The Wellsboro Middle School girls basketball team defeated rival North Penn in the final seconds last night, 35-33. Sarah Ingerick led all scorers with 20 points, 8 steals, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists, while Alexa Singer added 8 points and 4 rebounds.

"This game was a battle, back and forth the whole way," said head coach Darrell Morris. "We were down 19-18 to start the 4th quarter and down 6 with about 3:30 minutes to go. Our girls ran our press well and put us ahead by 2 with a minute to go, but North Penn kept coming back."

With 45 seconds left in the game, the Hornets found themselves tied with the Panthers but looked to take the lead. However, Wellsboro missed five shots in that possession and North Penn was able to capitalize on a layup after a long outlet pass to up two points with under 30 seconds remaining.

The Hornets kept their cool and Sarah Ingerick was fouled on the ensuing possession. Ingerick hit both free throws in a 1-and-1 bonus to tie the game at 33-33. On North Penn's possession after the foul shots, and with under 10 seconds left, Brynn Ripley stole a pass to the wing and hit Ingerick on the outlet. Ingerick took the ball to the basket and hit a short jumper just before the buzzer for the win.

With the win, the Hornets improve their season record to 13-2 and have now won five consecutive games. The team will be back in action on Thursday, March 29, as they travel to Liberty.