Third-quarter scoring barrage helps Berlin take down Clarion Area in PIAA 1A first round
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP — Berlin Brothersvalley faced some adversity for the first time of the postseason against Clarion Area in its PIAA Class 1A girls' basketball opener on Saturday at Pitt-Johnstown.
However, the Mountaineers weathered an early storm from the Bobcats to capture a 52-29 victory to advance.
"I said, 'We're OK. We've got to play our game. Everything's OK. What happens that you can't control, you've got to let go and keep playing our game,'" said Berlin coach Rachel Prosser of the message to her team at halftime. "Being patient ... and looking forward and playing good teams, we have to finetune things."
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Berlin (22-5) trailed 9-2 in the first. The Mountaineers did not score until 5:17 remaining in the frame. Freshman Coral Prosser tallied the final five points of the quarter to cut the deficit to two. Prosser finished with a game-high 21 points.
It was a bit of a wakeup call for the District 5 champs. But the Mountaineers responded. Berlin netted the first 10 points of the second to take a 17-9 advantage. Sophomore Mercy Sechler scored five of her six points in the second.
Berlin held Clarion (15-13), the District 9 No. 4 seed, to only one bucket in the second, which came with 1:56 remaining.
Berlin led 21-12 at the break.
There was no pace to the game because of the number of fouls called throughout the contest. With 5:55 left in the third, Clarion was called for an intentional foul. Prosser made two free throws to extend the Berlin lead to 16.
Late in the third, Clarion was assessed another intentional foul and then a technical foul after a comment from a player directed toward an official.
Berlin carried a 45-24 lead into the fourth.
Senior Regan Lauer chipped in 10 points for Berlin. The Mountaineers were stout for three quarters on the defensive end. Senior Ashley Brant has been a defensive juggernaut throughout her career. She stepped up again in a very physical contest that looked like a football game at times.
"We came out flat at first and didn't hit our shots," Brant said. "I think whenever we get like that, we get down on ourselves. We need to learn that when that happens, we need to get back on defense, recover there and go make out next shot.
"We went in at halftime and said, 'We've got to step it up.' We aren't done yet. We want to get to that championship game. We had to step it up in order to be able to do that."
Berlin will square off with District 7 No. 2 seed St. Joseph, a 57-35 victory over St. Joseph's Catholic Academy, in the second round at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Hempfield Area High School.
It will likely be a track meet between the two teams which both like to get up and down the floor. St. Joseph took defending PIAA champion Union Area to overtime in the WPIAL title game before falling. Brant and company will be ready for the clash.
"We've just got to be able to push the ball up and down the court," Brant said. "We have to play good defense and hit our shots as well."
Adam Ripple is the Daily American sports editor. He can be reached at 814-444-5926. Follow him on X (Twitter) @ARipple_DAsport. Follow Daily American Sports on Facebook and @dailyamericanmedia on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Berlin weathers early storm, cruises past Clarion in PIAA 1A 1st round
