WINGATE — Mount Lebanon guard Kate Sramac started making noise at just the right time in the PIAA first-round game against State College on March 10 at Bald Eagle Area High School.
Sramac had a relatively quiet first half, but then the all-everything senior’s play on both ends of the court suddenly broke open what was a very close game. She scored eight points in the first three minutes of the second half — five of which came off steals she herself made — and sparked the Blue Devils to a 62-44 win over the Lady Little Lions.
After the two teams struggled back and forth throughout the first two quarters, Sramac scored the first basket of the second half to put her team ahead by five, 27-22. Two minutes later, she nailed consecutive 3-pointers less than 20 seconds apart that gave the Devils their first double-digit lead of the night.
Sramac, who finished with 21 points, had help from center McKenzie Bushee (10 points) and Alyssa Hyland (14), but it was her outburst that set Mount Lebanon on its way against the very game Little Lions.
“I think Kate Sramac really turned it on,” Mount Lebanon coach Dori Oldaker said, “and really started catching her fire, which she really has.”
State College, which qualified for the PIAA’s after winning a District 6 consolation round game against Mifflin County, matched the Devils basket for basket in the first 16 minutes. Behind by five as the second quarter ran down, Taylor Love and Kayla Hawbaker scored to draw the Little Lions to within one point, 23-22, but Bushee scored on a last-second tip-in and put ML ahead by three at the half.
An untimely dry spell and two quick turnovers — along with Sramac’s baskets — began to unravel SC as the second half opened. By the time the third quarter ended, the Little Lions trailed by 12 points, 45-33.
“Sramac’s a very good player,” State College head coach Chris Leazier said, “and can really get you backed up off the dribble and rise up for her pull-up jump shot — a lot of girls can’t do that — but I thought her points came a little too easily tonight, quite frankly, which can happen. She’s a good player.”
State College didn’t go quietly, however. Led by Love, Hawbaker and high-scorer Maya Bokunewicz (17 points), SC made a mid-fourth quarter run. Bokunewicz scored twice sandwiched around a layup by Love that moved the Lions to within striking distance at 49-41.
But then Sramac countered with a jumper, followed with baskets by Jamey Napoleon and Alyssa Hyland, and the Devils were back in control, 55-41.
“Sometimes these runs go against you,” Leazier said, “and sometimes you make the run and separate yourself. It would be easy to look at this game and say the zone really bothered us and we couldn’t get the shots we wanted, and there’s some truth to that, but when you go on those droughts, the defense becomes so much tougher and they (Mount Lebanon) took advantage of that. I thought that was the difference.”
Hawbaker made three free throws that cut it to 55-44, but that would be the closest SC would be able to get the rest of the game. Mount Lebanon scored the last seven points, setting the final score at a somewhat misleading 62-44.
“We got it together a little bit in the second half,” Love said, “but not the best ending. We tried to keep going. We picked up our defense. We had a little bit of a lull in the third quarter, but we just wanted to fight to the end.”
Mount Lebanon, now 19-6, will move into the second round of the PIAA playoffs and meet the No. 1 team from District 7, North Allegheny.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
State College ends its season with a 10-15 record, and the Lions will graduate seven seniors, including Love and Hawbaker. Nonetheless, Leazier sees a bright future for the SC girls, even though it will be difficult seeing his first senior class leave.
“We will hit the reset button at some point,” he said. “We do think we got a lot of good experience for the younger players at the varsity level. Our junior varsity team was 15-5, so there’s a foundation there with the younger kids.
“But this is a day when you are sad about losing the seniors. The absolute worst time to experience a coaching change is before your senior year. They (the seniors) really hung in there with us. When we experienced that seven-game losing streak in January, they could have said we’re out of here, but they didn’t.
“So I’m very proud of the seniors. It was really fun to coach them, and I know that I am going to look back and be glad that they were my first senior class.”
