Freshman Stephens banks in 3-pointer at buzzer to lift Plum girls to win over Freeport

By: Michael Love
Friday, December 2, 2022 | 10:08 PM

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The bank was open late for Riley Stephens, and the Plum freshman made a deposit she won’t soon forget.

Stephens’ 3-point shot at the buzzer deflected off glass and went in to give the Mustangs a come-from-behind 49-48 victory over Freeport on Friday in the second game of the Freeport Tip-Off at Freeport Middle School.

“Originally, I was looking to go down the court a lot more than I did,” said Stephens, who accepted a pass from senior Cam Rogers near midcourt after Plum inbounded the ball with eight seconds on the fourth-quarter clock.

“I didn’t look up at the clock, but I felt there was no time to waste. I got the pass and felt the urgency to get the shot up. When it went in, my jaw dropped. It was so awesome.”

Stephens came off the bench and finished with seven points, all in the second half. She also delivered a layup with 1 minute, 37 seconds left to give Plum, which rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit, the lead at 46-45.

“Going into the game, my stomach was twisting and turning,” Stephens said. “It was a lot. I was really nervous. But once I got in the groove, I was able to settle down, and it felt like a normal game. It feels so good to make a shot like that to help my team win.”

Said Plum coach Rich Mull: “I am almost at a loss for words. I told the girls in the locker room just now that regardless of the outcome of the game, what I was most proud of was our defensive effort in the second half and how hard every girl worked. We just didn’t give up through adversity. We put ourselves in a position to win it at the end, and Riley made an amazing shot.”

Freeport took the lead with 25 seconds left at 47-46 as senior Melaina DeZort, who finished with 16 points, stole the ball and went to the hoop, drawing a foul from Plum junior Megan Marston before converting a layup.

DeZort missed the free throw, but senior Ava Soilis, who recorded a game-best 19 points, grabbed the rebound.

Soilis pulled down a second rebound off a free-throw miss from Natalie Volek, was fouled and went to the line. She hit one of two with eight seconds left to give Freeport a 48-46 advantage.

“The girls’ effort was there the whole game,” Freeport coach Fred Soilis said. “Our first scrimmage a week ago, we didn’t play well. We had another scrimmage on Tuesday, and they stepped it up. In the huddle before the final play, I told the girls I was proud of what they did tonight and the effort they showed no matter what the outcome ended up being. There wasn’t one player on that team that didn’t make a mistake tonight, and I told them before the game that mistakes were going to happen. But they played with energy and really took positive steps forward.”

Both teams will be back in action Saturday. The Mustangs will return to the court at 10:30 a.m. against Highlands, a 36-29 winner over Fox Chapel on Friday. The Yellowjackets then will host Fox Chapel at 1:30 p.m.

Marston scored 10 of her team-best 16 points in the second half before fouling out with less than a minute to play.

Junior forward Pascale Olczak added 14 points for the Mustangs, and Rogers contributed eight points.

Plum senior forward Dannika Susko was held without a point and fouled out with 4:03 left in the fourth, but she pulled down seven rebounds during her time on the court.

“Dannika had a tough time scoring tonight, but she continued to work hard on the defensive end and got some important rebound for us,” Mull said.

Olczak scored eight of her team’s 13 first-quarter points, and she made a pair of free throws 21 seconds into the second quarter to give the Mustangs a 15-13 lead.

But she was shut out for the remainder of the half.

Marston nailed a jumper and hit one of two free throws to draw Plum to within 21-20 with 4:41 on the second-quarter clock.

But Freeport controlled the scoring from there as it went on a 12-2 run to open its double-digit halftime advantage.

Soilis, who finished the first half with 11 points, sank a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer. The offensive possession and shot from beyond the arc came about after the Yellowjackets defense forced a turnover, Plum’s 11th of the first half, with 14 seconds on the clock.

DeZort was strong from the field in the first half with a trio of 3-pointers. She added five of six free throws to go into the break with 14 points.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Freeport, Plum