PV girls upset Stroudsburg to clinch D-11 berth

When a team is one win away from qualifying for a district playoff spot, you want to see some grit in their game.

That’s exactly what the home crowd witnessed Friday night in the eyes and the hearts of Pleasant Valley in its playoff clinching 56-53 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference girls basketball victory over a very good Stroudsburg team.

In a game that saw lead changes nearly every minute and several tied scores, PV persevered against the Mountaineers (16-4) with the game on the line and under a minute to play.

Trailing 51-46 with 1:13 to go, Stroudsburg coach Matt Field called three time outs to try to change the rhythm of the play and pull out a last second victory, but his efforts failed.

“The difference was they beat us to all the 50-50 loose balls all game long,” said Field. “We knew they needed a win to make the playoffs and they were pulling energy from their “Pink Out” night and the loud band in the stands. Plain and simple, they out-hustled us.”

Bear coach Nadia Gauronsky couldn’t have been more proud of her team that has been befuddled by injuries all season long.

“Getting back Cameron Caffrey was huge for us,” said Gauronsky. “She’s missed the last six games and tonight her shooting, and her heady play made a big difference. Plus she’s only a sophomore and she’s a leader out on the floor.”

The teams traded baskets most of the first half until the Bears put together a six-point run, capped by Madison Rosenberg’s basket, to grab the lead. It was short-lived, however, as the Mountaineers battled back and took a 28-26 halftime lead.

“Stroudsburg is a rival game for us and they beat us by double figures at their gym earlier in the season,” said Gauronsky. “I told our girls at halftime that if we could hang with them until the fourth quarter, then I wanted to see our desire to win.”

The Bears answered their coach’s challenge. Uusing pinpoint passing and balanced scoring, Pleasant Valley managed to hang in with the powerful Mountaineers. The Bears’ Masani Francis eventually tied the game at 38-38 on a left handed layup with 1:13 remaining in the third quarter.

‘Our game plan was to spread the floor on their zone defense because they’re bigger than us,” said Gauronsky. “On defense, we needed to pressure their guards and not get beat off the dribble.”

Caffrey’s baseline three-pointer gave the Bears a 50-45 lead with 4:40 left.

But the Mountaineers weren’t finished and when Kayla Worsely-Wooten’s scored with 49 remaining it was a one-possession game (51-48). But Stroudsburg never got any closer and the Bears’ playoff berth was set in stone.

TOP SCORERS ... Pleasant Valley was led by Caffrey’s 13 points and Brianna Clark chipped in with 12. Emily Strunk had a game high 18 points for the Mountaineers.

TIME OUT FOR TIME OUTS ... A total of seven time outs were called in the last four minutes of the game as both coaches chalk-boarded their strategies in an attempt to win the close game.

LIVING ON THE EDGE ... PV’s Rosenberg picked up her fourth personal foul with three minutes left to play, but she continued to play strong defensively and altered several shots taken by Stroudsburg.

STROUDSBURG

Hines 5-0-0-12, Strunk 8-1-4-18, Worsley-Wotten 1-0-0-2, Bolds 3-0-0-6, A. Byra 3-8-12-15, Francis 0-0-0-0, Joseph 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-9-16-53.

PLEASANT VALLEY

Caffrey 3-5-10-13, B. Clark 5-2-3-12, A. Clark 3-2-2-8, Rosenberg 4-0-4-9, Francis 3-3-7-9, A. Wagner 1-0-0-2, O’Neill 1-0-0-3, R. Wagner 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-12-26-56.

Stroudsburg 14 14 10 15 - 53

Pleasant Valley 13 13 16 14 - 56

Three pointers: S - Hines 2, Strunk 1, A. Byra 1; PV- Caffrey 2, Rosenberg 1.