By RYAN HAYNER
PLATTSBURGH — Harrisville coach Pete Wood chided one of his players after she took a midrange shot early.
Drive, he told her.
The Pirates used their superior size for constant drives that consistently led to layups or fouls shots.
That offensive style was crucial as Harrisville staged a fourth-quarter rally to hand Westport (20-1) its first loss, a 43-39 decision in the NYSPHSAA Class D girls' regional semifinals Wednesday at the Plattsburgh State Field House.
"We came in with a theory that we were going to take the ball hard to the basket and we did that tonight," said Wood. "We did a good job of getting to the rim."
Patty Coloney scored a game-high 23 points for the Pirates (15-6), who advance to the regional finals. Harrisville will take on Section II's Argyle.
"It was a great season. For me, it was a joy all year long," Westport coach Hokey McKinley said. "I wish Harrisville the best. They were a little better than us today.
"The girls fought hard for the whole game and I'm really proud of them."
The Pirates outscored the Eagles, 15-7, in the fourth quarter, coming back from a 6-point deficit. Katie French tied the game at 35 and Coloney connected on a off-balance jumper in the paint to take a 37-35 lead with 3:06 left.
After both teams traded buckets, Westport came up with a series of steals but could not capitalize.
On their third steal in a span of a minute, the Eagles missed a transition layup and misfired on two more shots after corralling two offensive rebounds.
Taylor Wood provided a dagger when she exposed a clear lane to the rim for an easy layup to give the Pirates a 41-37 cushion with 24 seconds left.
Katlyn Hart sealed it with a pair of free throws 16 seconds later.
Westport turned the ball over six times and was 3-for-12 from the field in the final frame.
"They made some tough shots and we missed some easy ones," McKinley said. "We lost our composure a few times with the basketball, where we would turn it over, make bad passes. They're kids, they're going to make mistakes. No one is perfect."
Harrisville scored all five of its fourth-quarter field goals in the paint. Fourteen of the Pirates' 17 field goals in the game were either layups or short-range shots.
"We can certainly shoot the ball, but I wanted to go inside against this man-to-man defense, and the kids responded well. They did a good job," Wood said.
Westport came out strong from the beginning, hitting six of its first eight shots to take a 14-3 lead.
Harrisville finished the first half with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to four. The Eagles carried that same lead into the intermission.
Westport had trouble going inside against the Pirates but was getting good looks off screens.
Willa McKinley hit on a number of jumpers all over the court and finished with 17 points for the Eagles. Kalika Hopkins added 11.
"They have size, so every time we seem to take the ball to the basket we couldn't get a shot off," Hokey McKinley said. "We either get our shot blocked or turn it over on the entry pass. Plus, we have good perimeter shooters."
But in the second half, the Eagles had trouble sinking those outside shots.
After shooting 41.6 percent from the floor in the first half, the Eagles went just 6-for-24 in the second.
Harrisville 43, Wesport 39
Harrisville (43)
P. Coloney 10-3-23, Berwald 1-0-2, Hart 0-2-2, French 2-3-7, K. Coloney 1-1-3, Wood 1-0-2, Mona 0-0-0, Wallace 0-0-0, Backus 0-0-0, Hall 2-0-4. Totals: 17-9-43.
Wesport (39)
Hopkins 3-5-11, A. Sherman 0-0-0, Rodriguez 3-0-6, M. McKinley 1-0-2, C. Sherman 1-0-2, W. McKinley 8-1-17, Armitage 0-1-1. Totals: 16-7-39.
Harrisville1081015—43
Westport148107—39
3-point goals: None.
E-mail Ryan Hayner at: rhayner@pressrepublican.com
