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Huskies finding identity in late stretch

Mifflin County rolls Trojans in 2nd half

LEWISTOWN — The Mifflin County girls basketball team found itself stuck in a rut at the beginning of the season as the Huskies were missing players, shooting slumps were prevalent and the obstacles were mounting for a talented team in its first season in the Mid-Penn Keystone Division.

In the last leg of the season the Huskies have done a complete 180, as Mifflin County has had multiple players putting together their best games of the year.

The three-pronged attack of Marissa Gingrich, Brianna Bodtorf and Kate Knable has been lethal the past few games and the Huskies suddenly have found an identity rooted in tough defense and excellent shooting as Mifflin County used a dominant second half to bury Chambersburg, 61-34 in a non-league matchup on Tuesday night in Lewistown.

Gingrich scored 19 points and had a game-high five assists, while Bodtorf had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Knable had 13 points and three steals.

Mifflin County (7-7) turned turnovers into points and executed its offense to perfection. The team looked its best in transition, despite a few hiccups when the Huskies got too far ahead of themselves and ran into some turnovers.

Mifflin County recorded 16 assists on 24 buckets and seven different players scored for the Huskies. The Trojans (4-11) had few answers defensively in the second half.

“It felt like we were a 10-speed bike and one of the gears was bad,” Mifflin County coach Roger Herto said. “Nine speeds were good, but once you got to that 10th speed it was off just a little. I felt our offense was like that tonight. We were really good in spurts. I liked that we had a lot of assists, that tells me that we are scoring off of the offense. Then there were possessions when we weren’t real smart.”

In the first half, it was Gingrich who got going early, as the point guard started the night with a chase down block of Chambersburg’s Erin Pattillo on a fast break layup, just nine seconds into the game.

The play helped set the tone for her offensively as Gingrich erupted for 13 points in the opening half and a 6-1 run at the end of the second quarter gave the Huskies a 24-16 lead going into the break.

The supporting cast of Hanna Rittenhouse, Emma Yeager and Mya Aumiller all played big parts on the glass, in screening for their teammates and contributing offensively themselves.

“I think our players are all starting to settle into the roles that they have,” Herto said. “It’s taken us a while to get there but I see us starting to get a better feel for each other. Some of the offenses that we run when the ball gets to a certain spot, it’s a read not a pre-determined cut. It takes a few mistakes sometimes to get things better. Tonight, I saw us make progress on a lot of possessions.”

Bodtorf took control of the game in the third as the Huskies rode the hot hand throughout the contest. Bodtorf was aggressive on the glass and found herself able to bully her way down low as she hit some difficult shots over taller Trojan defenders.

“My players were really good at getting me open and they set good screens,” Bodtorf said. “They were finding ways to get me the ball. We just work really well together.”

Bodtorf scored on a beautiful feed from Gingrich 50 seconds into the third to give the Huskies an eight-point advantage before an offensive rebound from Yeager led to a Gingrich 3-pointer. Bodtorf later connected on a three on a nice feed from Rittenhouse to give Mifflin County a 36-24 advantage with 4:31 left.

The offensive onslaught continued as Aumiller drilled a three with 1:55 left in the third to give Mifflin County a 17-point lead.

“I love that. When someone gets hot, we all just follow along,” Bodtorf said. “It gets us motivated and we realize that we can do it. I think that we’ve realized that we are better than what we have played, we are starting to pass the ball more and we have more trust in each other.”

Knable caught fire in the fourth to keep the Trojans at bay, scoring 12 of her 13 points in the frame. Knable hit multiple shots in transition and was able to get to the line with ease in the quarter. A left-wing three by Knable with 4:41 left gave Mifflin County an insurmountable 18-point lead.

“Kate produces a lot of her points with her defense,” Herto said. “When she gets a hand on the ball, she’s really quick and she takes off. Kate produces a lot of points on defense and it’s hard to find kids that do that. I really feel good for her. She has really come along as the season has gone on.”

Knable has been a force as of late offensively as the junior scored 14 points against Lower Dauphin on Feb. 16, 17 against Trinity on Feb. 17 and she added 13 Tuesday night.

“I was feeling pretty confident,” Knable said. “I know that I have a great team that I trust that can pass me the ball, so I don’t really have to worry about anything. I go into it knowing that if I miss, they won’t be mad at me, they are going to lift me up no matter what.

“I am somebody who overthinks things a lot,” Knable added. “I started out the season really overthinking things and feeling that I had to do well and as the season has gone on, I’ve just tried to play hard. It’s more about winning than it is myself playing good, so I think that has really helped me to improve.”

The Huskies now turn their attention to a pivotal five-game stretch to close out the regular season towards what it believes can be a solid run in the District 6 Class 6A playoffs. Herto’s focus remains on his team and not the opponent.

“I’m not as worried about the other team as I am with us,” Herto said. “I believe that we can beat anybody that we play when things go well and when our shots are falling. I’m that confident in them and they seem to be starting to feel confident in themselves. They were making plays and I saw some good ball movement. We’re just taking it one game at a time. My focus is on us and trying to get us better every game. If we can keep progressing, I like our chances when we get there.”

Mifflin County 61, Chambersburg 34

MIFFLIN COUNTY

Marissa Gingrich 8 1-1 19, Brianna Bodtorf 6 4-4 17, Kate Knable 5 2-5 13, Mya Aumiller 2 0-0 6, Hanna Rittenhouse 1 0-0 2, Emma Yeager 1 0-0 2, Tessa Pavlova 1 0-0 2, Emma Weaver 0 0-0 0, Aija Binder 0 0-0 0, Halle Rittenhouse 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 7-10 — 61.

3-point goals: Gingrich 2, Aumiller 2, Knable, Bodtorf.

CHAMBERSBURG

Kiki Walker 4 0-0 10, Robyn Stepler 3 0-0 6, Marlee Wrights 3 0-2 6, Sydni Byers 1 0-0 3, Ashia Thomas 1 1-2 3, Katie Parker 1 0-0 2, Madi Flythe 1 0-0 2, Erin Pattillo 0 0-6 0, Allison List 0 0-0 0, Kylee Miller 0 0-0 0, Rosalyn Diehl 0 0-0 0, Joelle Rheam 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 1-10 — 32.

3-point goals: Walker 2, Byers.

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