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Second-half surge powers Plum girls past Franklin Regional

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Monday, December 19, 2022 | 10:10 PM

With 2 minutes, 2 seconds left in the third quarter Monday night, the Franklin Regional girls basketball team held a three-point lead over Section 1-5A rival Plum and hoped to extend its advantage.

But the Mustangs then went on a 14-0 run that lasted until two minutes were left in the fourth quarter and were able to hold off the Panthers for a close 40-38 victory at Franklin Regional High School.

“We knew it was going to be a very tough game, neck and neck the whole way,” said junior Megan Marston, who finished with a game-high 14 points. “We knew if we had the chance, we had to get out by a lot because Franklin has the ability to make a run, and they fought back. They always do.”

Plum improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in section play. The Mustangs also went down to the wire with Gateway in their section opener last Thursday before prevailing 38-36.

“The section is tough, obviously,” Plum coach Rich Mull said. “It’s also tough to go on the road and come over here and a get a win.”

Franklin Regional second-year coach Bernie Pucka and Panthers assistant Krista Pietropaola faced their former team for the first time.

Pucka coached seven seasons with the Mustangs before stepping away in 2014. Pietropaola, a 2014 Plum graduate who went on to play at Youngstown State and Slippery Rock, is Plum’s second all-time leading scorer.

Marston and fellow Mustangs junior Pascale Olczak combined for 13 of their team’s 16 fourth-quarter points. Marston scored seven, and Olczak tallied six as she ended with 12 points to go along with seven rebounds.

Franklin Regional stopped Plum’s double-digit run on a layup from junior Gabrielle Keough with 2 minutes, 6 seconds remaining.

The Panthers outscored Plum, 14-5, over the final two minutes. Plum’s Cam Rogers hit 1 of 2 free throws with 14 seconds left before Franklin Regional junior Angeline Brush sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to set the final.

“I thought, for the most part, we played pretty hard,” Mull said. “We made some bad decisions at the end, and we were fortunate to do enough to get through. We did a nice job of building that lead, but we just couldn’t put it away. Give credit to Franklin Regional. They never gave up.”

Senior guard Sarah Penrod led Franklin Regional with 10 points. Brush hit another 3-pointer with 21 seconds left and finished with six points.

“They battled 1,000 percent,” said Pucka, whose team fell to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the section. “That was the second time we fought back like that. We dug a hole deep against Hempfield (58-51 loss) and came back. We’ve been there, but these girls never quit. We get everything from them every single night. I couldn’t be any prouder of their effort, for sure.”

The teams were whistled for a combined 17 fouls in the first half. Franklin Regional had 10 of them, and Plum sank 6 of 9 free throws in the second quarter to help produce a 19-17 lead at the break.

Freshman Riley Stephans came off the bench to score seven points in the second quarter, and she finished the game with nine.

Plum used an 8-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Marston, to open a 19-13 lead with 2:05 left until the break.

But Franklin Regional got a putback from sophomore Toryn Fulton and a layup off a turnover from junior Olivia Orndoff to close the gap to two before the teams headed to the locker room.

Plum senior forward Dannika Susko started but left the game with 3:13 left in the first quarter with an injury suffered while going to the ground for a loose ball.

She was whistled for her third foul on the play. She exited the game with two points, a rebound and a block and didn’t return.

Plum returns to action Wednesday with a nonsection home game against West Allegheny. Franklin Regional is off until Dec. 28 when it faces Seton-La Salle at the Hempfield Tournament.

The Mustangs and Panthers will rematch at Plum on Jan. 23.

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.

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