Westmont Hilltop girls fend off River Valley in final seconds for a return trip to District 6 Class 3A final

Feb. 27—Monday night's District 6 Class 3A girls basketball semifinal contest between Westmont Hilltop and visiting River Valley was a tightly contested battle that seemed likely to be decided on the final possession — and that's exactly what happened.

River Valley trimmed a six-point deficit with 1:30 left to one in the final minute, but the Hilltoppers came up big at both ends in the waning seconds to hold on for a 65-62 win and punch their ticket to a berth in the district championship game for the second straight year.

Westmont Hilltop (19-3) took the largest lead by either team in the game at 63-57 on a breakaway layup by Christiana Gordon with a minute and a half to play. The Panthers (19-7) answered with a layup by Emilee Staats, who was fouled in the act of shooting.

Staats missed the free throw, but River Valley got the offensive rebound, and Kenady Kitner then drained her fifth 3-pointer of the night to make it 63-62 with 44.3 seconds remaining.

The Hilltoppers then missed a pair of free throws to give the Panthers new life, but Rylee Kitner missed from long range, and Westmont Hilltop's Beth Buettner won a scramble for the rebound and drew a foul on the play.

Buettner then buried two clutch free throws with 12.6 seconds on the clock, and Panthers standout Ava Persichetti drew iron on a potential tying 3-pointer in the final second.

Gordon controlled the rebound as the buzzer sounded to send her team into the championship against Forest Hills, a 60-47 semifinal winner over Central Cambria, at 6 p.m. Friday at Mount Aloysius College.

Persichetti, a Division I recruit who scored a team-leading 25 points through the first three quarters for River Valley, was held scoreless in the final frame by the Hilltoppers' defense.

"First off, give it up for Ava. She's a heck of a ballplayer," said Westmont Hilltop coach Brittany Eisenhuth, whose squad avenged a loss to the Panthers in the 2023 district championship game. "We had three different girls on her, and we threw everything we had at her. She's a complete player."

Westmont Hilltop's all-around talent Gordon outdueled her Panther counterpart with a game-high 36 points on a dazzling array of long 3-pointers and sweeping drives to the basket.

The Hilltoppers also got a huge boost down the stretch from an unexpected offensive source.

Freshman forward Devyn Shingler scored seven of her 11 points in the crucial fourth quarter, in which she twice put the Hilltoppers in the lead with a 3-pointer and a free throw, and also contributed to a run of five straight that put Westmont Hilltop up by four with just under six minutes to play.

"Devyn, our freshman, went off," Eisenhuth said. "She showed no fear. She took the ball to the rim and made some huge shots."

"I was proud of my team for not giving up and rallying back," Shingler said. "I knew I had to step up and take the opportunities given to me."

Shingler's defense also helped keep Persichetti in check late.

"I had to dig deep and guard Ava," Shingler said. "She is a great player and a huge threat. As a team, we knew we had to shut her down and make her force the ball to other players."

"We never gave up," said River Valley coach Richard Brown, whose team will host Central Cambria in the consolation game with a state playoff spot at stake. "We were down six, cut it to one and had two opportunities, but we missed those shots. We didn't expect No. 5 (Shingler) to light it up like that, so she did her job for her team."

River Valley ended the first quarter on a 7-0 run capped off by Persichetti's triple to go up 19-14, and a see-saw second period saw the lead change hands several times. Gordon's driving bucket broke a 29-all tie in the final minute before Kenady Kitner hit a 3-pointer to give the Panthers a 32-31 edge at the break.

The third quarter was similarly nip-and-tuck, with Westmont Hilltop's Zoey Lynch completing a 3-point play in the final seconds to put the Hilltoppers up by one heading into the decisive final frame.