EXETER — Wyoming Valley West freshman Kalia Saunders admitted her fundamentals were flawed on her only basket Wednesday night. No one probably even noticed.
Saunders scored on a shot near the hoop as the buzzer sounded in overtime, giving the Spartans a 48-46 victory over Pittston Area in a District 2 Class 5A girls basketball quarterfinal game at Wyoming Area Secondary Center.
The fifth-seeded Spartans (10-13) head to Saturday’s semifinals and will play No. 1 Abington Heights (18-4) at a site and time to be announced. Fourth-seeded Pittston Area concluded it season at 10-13.
Overtime played out much like the second half, with four lead changes until Pittston Area’s Emma Coles hit two free throws with 8.5 seconds remaining to tie it once again, 46-46. The Spartans, though, had enough time to set up the winning bucket.
Valley West’s Kiara Kane inbounded the ball to Trinity Johnson and got the ball right back. Kane dribbled to the top of the 3-pointer arc and then send a bounce pass inside to the 6-foot Saunders.
“There wasn’t really a play,” Saunders said. “If you’re open, just put it up. I did not think that was going in. I went up with the wrong hand. I was on the left side and went up with right. Usually, it just bangs off the rim and comes back down.”
Actually, Valley West wanted to get the ball in the hands of guard Toni Amato, the team’s leading scorer. But as Pittston Area did all game, it had Amato guarded and the Spartans had to ad lib.
It led to a celebration and ousting the Patriots in the quarterfinals for a second consecutive season.
“Pittston played an outstanding game,” Valley West coach Gary Ferenchick said. “They have five seniors that play their heart out each and every day. They have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Pittston Area forced overtime when Lily Savoy made a steal and layup to knot the game 40-40 with 8.4 seconds left in regulation. That came after Kane made a steal and a layup at the other end to give Valley West a 40-38 lead.
Johnson finished with a game-high 14 points for Valley West. No other Spartans reached double figures, but Fatika Tikhtova had consecutive baskets in the third to erase a four-point deficit. Savoy had 13 for Pittston Area.
District 2 Class 5A Quarterfinals
Wyoming Valley West 48, Pittston Area 46 OT
WVW (48) — Trinity Johnson 6 2-5 14, Aubrey Boyd 3 1-2 7, Kalia Saunders 1 0-0 2, Haylie Oliphant 1 0-0 3, Toni Amato 0 2-3 2, Kiara Kane 1 0-0 3, Claudia Siegfried 2 2-6 6, Jessica Shaver 2 2-6 6, Fatika Tikhtova 3 0-0 6. Totals 19 8-18 48.
PITTSTON AREA (46) — Kallie Booth 0 6-6 6, Hannah Getz 4 0-0 8, Nicole Zambetti 2 0-1 5, Jada Sharp 3 2-3 8, Lily Savoy 5 2-2 13. Totals 16 10-13 46.
Wyoming Valley West`6`11`13`10`8 — 48
Pittston Area`9`13`10`8`6 — 40
Three-point goals –– WVW 2 (Oliphant, Siegfried). PA 4 (Zambetti, Sharp 2, Savoy).
