10th title doesn't come easy for York Catholic, which needs OT vs. Camp Hill

HERSHEY >> It wasn't easy. In fact, No. 10 was far from a foregone conclusion.

But, when you've been to so many of them, they can't all be easy, especially against a hot team such as Camp Hill.

The Lions stormed out to a double-digit lead, only to see York Catholic come back. Camp Hill took over and went up again. Late in regulation, the Irish had to score and did, forcing overtime.

But in typical fashion, the extra session belonged to the Irish, and it was once again celebration time on the Giant Center floor.

York Catholic opened overtime with an eight-point run, and the Irish won their unprecedented 10th straight District 3 Class AA championship, 63-57.

"This isn't supposed to be easy. It's a district title game for a reason," Irish coach Kevin Bankos said. "The team that we played belonged here. They beat a very good Delone (Catholic) team (in the semifinals)."

The seniors — who weren't about to let the streak end on their watch — head to the PIAA tournament with a 23-4 record.

"As a senior we know this is our last chance, and our first priority was getting this medal for this team right now," said Anne Lehr, who led the Irish with 21 points. "The streak is there in the back of our mind, but we wanted to pull this out as our senior class together for our team."

"We are a part of history. We are still in the streak, and it's an amazing feeling," said fellow senior Hannah Laslo, who added 12 points.

Freshman Kate Bauhof drove for a layup that tied the game in the final minute of the fourth quarter. The teams traded possessions when senior Marissa Ressler found herself with a look as time was set to expire. She came up short on that effort, but wouldn't miss after.

Ressler canned a jumper to open overtime, stole the ball and dropped two free throws. A short while later, she converted a Lalso pass for a layup. Lehr followed with a steal and hit a pair from the line, capping an eight-point run that gave the Irish a 58-50 lead.

"We told her don't worry about (the miss)," Bankos said of Ressler, who had six of her 10 points in extra time, to go along with 10 rebounds for the contest. "She battled the whole game. She didn't have her best game, but what she did for us was the best four minutes."

Addie Guyer answered for Camp Hill, but moments after picking up her fourth foul, Laslo grabbed a huge rebound and hit two free throws.

Still, the Lions weren't done. Freshman Diamond Bragg, who led all scorers with 20 points, knocked down a 3-pointer, then stole the inbound and hit a layup, cutting York Catholic's lead to 61-57 with 32 seconds left in overtime.

But Bauhof (8 points) responded with a pair of free throws, and the Irish ran out the clock on another title.

Camp Hill (20-5) hit three 3-pointers during a 14-2 run that opened the game, but the Irish rallied with 13 straight points, starting with an Emily Laslo offensive rebound put-back. Lehr's drive to the basket tied the game at 14 with 6:33 before halftime.

She added a free throw for the lead, however, with 1:05 left in the half, Leah Springer (18 points, 12 rebounds) gave the Lions a 22-20 edge with a three-point play.

Yet Lehr answered 10 seconds later, with a scoop and a free throw of her own for a 23-22 halftime advantage.

"I knew that I could lean on my team and I saw some openings. I took them and they started falling for me, so I just kept going," Lehr said.

"I am blessed with amazing point guards throughout the years," Bankos said. "I couldn't be more proud of her because she does whatever I ask her to do. She takes all the crap I give her, as my point guards all will tell you. I am hard on them. What inspires me with Anne is she never gives up, she plays every second, every minute and today she go rewarded for that."

The Lions scored seven straight early in the third, and extended their lead to 38-30 with two minutes to play in the third, putting the streak in jeopardy.

However, Japriya Carroll (10 points) nailed a 3-pointer, then stole the ball and hit a layup as the quarter buzzer sounded, making it 38-37 after three.

"I know it's the same atmosphere we've been before, but it's not the same in our hearts," Hannah Laslo said. "Whenever they were coming we had to say all right, we've been down before. It's just a regular game."

Lehr summed up another title holding her gold medal.

"This one — since I am a senior and it's the last one. It's the sweetest one," she said.

CAMP HILL(57)

Newman 1 0-0 3, Collingsworth 1 3-4 5, Diamond Bragg 8 2-6 20, Addie Guyer 4 0-0 11, Leah Springer 8 2-3 18, Trimmer 0 0-0 0, Herr 0 0-0 0, Stevens 0 0-0 0.

Totals — 22 7-13 57.

YORK CATHOLIC (63)

Anne Lehr 5 11-13 21, Kate Bauhof 2 3-5 8, Marissa Ressler 4 2-2 10, Japriya Carroll 4 0-0 10, Hannah Laslo 5 2-3 12, E. Laslo 1 0-0 2, M. Duchek 0 0-0 0, Dormer 0 0-0 0.

Totals — 21 18-23 63

Camp Hill14816125—57York Catholic1013141313—63

3-point goals — CH 6 (Guyer 3, Bragg 2, Newman), YC 3 (Carroll 2, Bauhof)