Seniors lead Mount Carmel into state semis
MOUNT CARMEL — Lauren Ayres threw the perfect inbound pass from near midcourt, a pinpoint lob that Mount Carmel teammate Dani Rae Renno converted for a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of Friday’s state quarterfinal game.
Fewer than four minutes later the Red Tornadoes’ lead was gone, and their season was in jeopardy of ending on their home floor.
In perhaps the most clutch 66-second stretch in program history, Mount Carmel seniors Ayres, Renno and Lauren Shedleski fueled a 7–1 closing run to beat District 2 champion Holy Cross, 50–47.
“They just are such a special group,” said Red Tornadoes coach Lisa Varano. “I thought they showed a lot of poise. When that lead starts going away, you can panic, but as seniors and juniors out there they didn’t panic. They kept their composure, and they did what they needed to do.”
With its fifth consecutive win, District 4 champion Mount Carmel advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in three tries. The Red Tornadoes (17–5) play District 11 champion Mahanoy Area (20–4) on Monday for a berth in the PIAA Class 2A championship game. Mount Carmel defeated the Golden Bears 68–38 in a regular-season game on Jan. 9.
“It’s great,” said Renno, who had 17 points and 14 rebounds Friday. “It’s just the best feeling in the world.”
“This is Mount Carmel history,” Ayres added, “and I couldn’t be more excited.”
The Red Tornadoes were beaten in the 2012 state quarters (by York Catholic, 70–67) and again in 2014 (by Dunmore, 51–28). They seemed destined for a similar fate Friday after a 41–31 lead vanished in a span of 2:21.
Crusaders senior Kaci Kranson had seven points in a 12–0 run for a 43–41 lead. After Renno followed up her own miss to tie the score, Emily Ferguson drilled a 3-pointer for Holy Cross (12–5) at the 1:45 mark. From there, the Red Tornadoes went 7–1, a spree ignited by an Ayres runner.
“Our coaches trust us or else we wouldn’t be on the court, and if they have faith in me, I have faith in myself,” said Ayres, who scored a career-best 11 points for the second consecutive game. “I trust my team, and we know how to finish games.”
Holy Cross got a Ferguson free throw to go up 46–45, but Renno rebounded the missed second shot and then split a double-team for a basket and foul on the other end.
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“It’s just having teammates who have my back,” said the 6-foot-2 Renno. “I hear them all saying, ‘Go up with it!’ I know that they have the confidence in me that, even if I miss, that was what I was supposed to do.”
Renno missed the go-ahead free throw, but Shedleski rebounded the ball in the middle of the lane to maintain possession. The trip ended with Renno back on the free-throw line, and her two shots were good for a 49–47 edge.
“This is win or go home, and at that point it was really just getting on the board and doing what I needed to do to win the game,” said Shedleski. “Everybody on the team contributed.”
Kranson, who scored a game-high 22 points to finish with 1,255 in her career, was whistled for traveling when trying to maneuver around Renno for a shot. Mount Carmel senior Caroline Fletcher then inbounded the ball to Ayres, who was fouled and hit the second of two shots for a 50–47 lead with 4.8 seconds left.
The Crusaders’ last shot was a Kranson runner off one foot from the top-right of the arc that was wide left of the rim.
“They keep it interesting, but they just refuse to quit,” said Varano. “Hat’s off to Holy Cross — very good team — but our girls just wanted it tonight, and they refused to quit. Proud of them.”
Holy Cross shot 7-for-11 from the field to start the game, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range for a 17–9 lead after one quarter. The Red Tornadoes tried to keep pace, but they went 4-of-17 (0-for-6 from 3). They then opened the second quarter by shooting 3-pointers on nine of their first 11 shots, making just three. Still, they tied it 22-all at halftime.
“We’ve had some really good 3-point shooting games throughout the season, so shooting 3-pointers is not something completely different for us,” said Shedleski, the program’s career 3-point leader who hit two more Friday. “We knew they were going to double- and triple-team Dani, and we liked the looks we had. I think the adrenaline just got to us a little bit, and that’s why we missed some of them.”
Mount Carmel’s defense limited the Crusaders to 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting in the middle quarters to surge ahead 39–31 after three.
“We knew they were a good team and they were going to try to punch back as much as they could,” said Renno. “We had in the back of their minds that even if they did overcome us, that we’d have to eventually punch back. It was just a battle.”
PIAA CLASS 2A QUARTERFINAL
MOUNT CARMEL 50, HOLY CROSS 47
Holy Cross (12–5) 47
Emily Ferguson 2 1–2 7, Kaci Kranson 8 4–4 22, Krista Carachilo 2 0–0 6, Abbey Lentowski 4 1–2 10, Caitlin Bestrycki 1 0–0 2. Totals 17 6–8 47.
3-point goals: Carachilo 2, Ferguson 2, Kranson 2, Lentowski.
Did not score: Julia Goetz, Sarah Lyons, Molly White.
Mount Carmel (17–5) 50
Lauren Ayres 4 1–2 11, Mia Chapman 0 0–5 0, Caroline Fletcher 2 0–0 4, Lauren Shedleski 2 0–0 6, Dani Rae Renno 7 3–5 17, Alyssa Reisinger 3 0–0 6, Jenna Pizzoli 2 0–0 6. Totals 20 4–12 50.
3-point goals: Ayres 2, Pizzoli 2, Shedleski 2.
Did not score: Rachel Witkoski.
Score by quarters
Holy Cross`17`5`9`16–47
Mount Carmel`9`13`17`11–50
