Johnson, Sharrow pace East girls to Cager Classic win

By: William Whalen
Saturday, March 23, 2019 | 11:29 PM

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The West might be the best, but the beast is still the East.

The East girls team put its six-game winning streak on the line Saturday evening at the 23rd Annual A-K Valley Cager Classic, and for 30 minutes, it looked like the East might run away with an easy win.

But a game between all-stars can swing on a dime. Isabella Mills of newly minted PIAA Class 6A champion Peters Township put up 17 second-half points to lead a fierce West comeback that just ran out of time.

Backed by Mars standout Tai Johnson’s game-high 20 points and clutch free-throw shooting in the final minute by Kaylen Sharrow, the East managed to squeak out and a 66-64 win at Highlands High School.

“It was awesome,” East coach Dana Petruska said. “I thought they recognized how things were going but when they got to those last two minutes, those competitive juices got going.

After an understandably slow start in the first half, Mills, who arrived back from Hershey on Saturday morning, found the same competitive edge and shooting stroke that helped her lead Peters Township to a 62-49 win over Garnet Valley in the state title game Friday night.

Mills took over for the West squad with 4 minutes remaining. The Case Western Reserve recruit made four consecutive 3-pointers to tie the score at 64-64.

“I think just getting my adrenaline going and getting on a roll with my teammates,” said Mills, who was named West MVP, of her late-game performance. “The win yesterday was amazing and just being able to come here feels great.”

Dana Petruska coached against her son (West coach Dave Petruska of Deer Lakes) and said she had no intentions of subbing players. That changed when Mills got hot.

Dana Petruska brought in Sharrow, who made two free throws with 13.1 seconds remaining to ice the game.

“It was scary,” Sharrow said of her winning free throws. “I made them, then I was OK. Then, I got the jitters. If they would have made a 3-pointer, we would have lost.”

Sharrow finished with 16 points. Mills, like Johnson, scored 20 points.

Despite the dramatic finish, the East never trailed. Johnson, who was named the East MVP, came out and paced the East offense from the start draining a 3-pointer for the game’s first points.

The East was the beneficiary of shooters who got hot at different times. Armstrong’s Loryn Bowser added a coast-to-coast layup and a putback to give the East a commanding 19-7 lead midway through the 20-minute half.

West Shamokin’s Erin Crissman stopped a 10-0 East run with a deep 3-pointer to bring the score to 19-10. Bowser came back down the floor and added another basket, and Plum’s Alexa Seigh added a mid-range jumper to extend the Easts lead to 23-11.

Hampton’s Madeline Stevens sparked an 8-0 run for West before Sharrow drilled a 3-pointer and added a layup to widen the East’s lead to 32-22 with 2:31 left in the first half. Freeport’s Haley Graham added a layup late to keep the West within 34-26 at the half.

“It was just very exciting being in the atmosphere with all of the people I’ve met,” said Graham.

Leechburg’s Aubry Skeel added a basket for the East to start the second half. Deer Lakes’ Victoria Kiebler scored on a layup, and Lancers teammate Abby Buechel added another layup to trim the East’s lead to 36-30 with just over 17 minutes remaining in regulation. Buechel finished with 14 points. Valley’s Auveonna connected on a running floater to start an 8-2 East run before Mills took over.

“I was just glad that we were able to get an opportunity there at the end and make it an interesting game,” West coach Dave Petruska said. “Early on, it looked like it was kind of slipping away from us but we held on, kept our composure, and didn’t throw in the towel.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Butler, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski School, Knoch, Leechburg, Mars, Peters Township, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, St. Joseph, Valley