Lady Rams drop heartbreaker in triple OT as Boyertown claims hoops title

Webster’s defines the word epic as “extending beyond the usual or ordinary, especially in size or scope”.

That being said, the word epic only scratches the surface in describing what took place in the PAC-10 girls' basketball championship game held at Perkiomen Valley High School on Wednesday night.

The Boyertown Bears clawed their way back from a ten-point deficit in the fourth period, forcing overtime and eventually prevailing after three extra periods to defeat the Lady Rams of Spring-Ford, 56-51, and repeat as PAC-10 champions.

The Rams carried a ten point lead into the final frame of regulation before two consecutive layups by Bears' senior Jess Schlesman, with some help from the referees, helped Boyertown get to within three points with four minutes to play.

On consecutive plays that would be among the turning points of the championship game, Spring-Ford's Mariah Traywick was called for a blocking foul when it appeared that Boyertown's Kaitlyn Eisenhard had committed an offensive foul. On the subsequent trip down the floor, Traywick was called for an offensive foul when Boyertown’s Beth Anne Kercher had not set her feet. The play sequence prompted Lady Rams' coach Jeff Rinehimer to rip off his necktie in frustration.

Traywick, who fouled out with two minutes to play in regulation, was a force that Boyertown had no answer for all night as she snagged 12 rebounds and recorded five blocked shots.

Spring Ford had built an 11-point lead just before halftime on the momentum of back-to-back three pointers, just twelve seconds apart, by Meagan Yates.

Yates, who forced the third overtime by swatting away a shot at point blank range by Bears sniper Schlesman as time expired in the second overtime, would finish the game with four three-pointers and 16 points to lead the Lady Rams.

“They [Spring-Ford] are an outstanding team,” said Bears head coach Jason Bieber. “In a game like this, it’s a shame we couldn’t just declare the teams co- champions after the second OT. We may see them again this year, as I think both squads have the ability to go far in districts and states.”

For a moment, the Lady Rams and the hundreds of their fans who were in attendance began to celebrate as it appeared that Nikki Lynch had hit a game winning three pointer with 1.8 seconds left in the first overtime, but after a conference by the officials, they ruled her foot was just inside the three point line, leaving the game tied.

The younger players in the Spring-Ford line up played like seasoned veterans down the stretch as Sammi Stipa gave the Rams a 48-45 lead in the second overtime when she calmly knocked down a ten-footer with 1:01 remaining, forcing the Bears to call a timeout.

On the ensuing Rams possession, freshman Shelby Mueller alertly called time out as she clutched the ball during a scramble on the floor after the Bears cut the lead to one. Mueller then bounced the ball off a Bears player to retain possession with 49 seconds left.

The Bears regained the lead when Eisenhard hit from eight feet, but she failed to convert on a three-point play. Stipa then knocked down the first of two free throws to knot the game at 49 with 9.9 second left in the second OT.

In a strange twist of fate, it was a mistake that finally got the Bears in front to stay as junior Kaley Snyder scored the two most important points of her life (and her only two of the game). Eisenhard found her on the left wing and Boyertown coach Bieber motioned to Snyder not to shoot. Snyder missed the sign and calmly stroked the ball into the awaiting twine, giving Boyertown a three point edge and sending their fans into a frenzy. The Bears trainer got the scissors ready to cut down the net.

“Oh my god, I am so excited,” said Snyder. “I was so nervous. I just put it up and it went in. This is so awesome. I didn’t see the coach saying no shot, no shot. I was supposed to pass it back out to Kelly [Furman] but didn’t hear it until it was too late.”

After Courtney Hinnant knocked down a free throw and the Lady Rams forced a turnover on the ensuing inbound pass, Spring-Ford had an opportunity to win the game in regulation. Sarah Payonk (2-for-9 from the field, 1-4, 5 points overall) drove the lane but the ball rattled around the rim with five seconds left. There appeared to be contact on the play, but the whistles remained silent.

“We were so tired,” said Eisenhard. “They are such a good team. We knew we were going to have to battle all game and fortunately we were able to hit the shots we needed to at the end.”

Boyertown shot 58 percent from the field in the overtime periods as opposed to the 6-of-20 shooting performance by the Rams in the extra stanzas.

“I’m proud of our kids,” said Rinehimer. “They hustled and gave all they could and just came up a little short. They [Boyertown] did a great job of coming back again.”

Spring Ford (#9 seed) will host Neshaminy (#24 seed) in the PIAA District One playoffs on Saturday February 19^th at 1:30 in the Spring Ford High School gymnasium.

Spring-Ford        6  14  10  6  6  7  2 – 51

Boyertown           3  10  7  16  6  7  7 – 56

Spring-Ford (51) – Moore 2 0-0 4, Stipa 3 5-11 11, Yates 6 0-0 16, Traywick 1 0-0 2, Payonk 2 1-4 5, Hinnant 2 1-2 5, Lynch 1 0-0 2, Haas 0 0-0 0, Mueller 2 2-3 6. Totals 19 9-20 51.

Boyertown (56) – Schauder 1 2-2 4, Mullen 2 6-13 10, Furman 1 6-12 9, Eisenhard 4 6-16 15, Schlesman 6 4-5 16, Kircher 0 0-0 0, Snyder 1 0-0 2, Kulp 0 0-0 0, DeHaven 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 24-48 56.

3-point field goals: (SF) Yates 4, (BT) Furman, (BT) Eisenhard.