Huyck, Susquehanna withstand CCSA’s tough challenge in Class A opener
EAST NOTTINGHAM — As the fourth-quarter of a one-possession battle wound down Saturday at Oxford Area High School, the PIAA Class A girls basketball first-round game was crying out for someone to take over.
For a while, that appeared to be Chester Charter Scholars Academy senior guard Keymbrah Blackwell. But Susquehanna Community’s Taylor Huyck had the final say.
Huyck’s left-handed runner with 38 seconds left made the difference, capping a 28-point performance and sending Susquehanna to a 48-44 win in a battle of Sabers.
The win moves the District 2 runner-up in to the second round against Lancaster Country Day School. It took everything that Huyck had to get Susquehanna there against a feisty Chester Charter that refused to back down.
“I knew we needed to score because it was a close game, and we had to score on every opportunity,” Huyck said. “They rebounded a lot, so I knew I had to take as many shots as I could when I was open.”
Taylor Huyck says, “get on my back I’ll take you to the second round”. Susquehanna up 46-44, 38 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/EKYYiT4GHY
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) March 8, 2020
Despite the dominance of Huyck and the height advantage of 6-2 forward Mackenzie Steele, Chester Charter (17-9) battled. In its second states appearance, it looked like CCSA was going down the road of last year’s blowout, a 52-11 first-round humbling at the hands of Greenwood.
Saturday’s affair started with an 8-0 deficit, all eight thanks to Huyck. But CCSA wouldn’t have it, responding with 11 straight points and setting off four quarters of counter-punching.
“We’ve got to slow the game down,” Blackwell said. “We were rushing our shots and we weren’t playing smart on defense. We told each other we had to slow it down. And when we started slowing it down, we started hitting our shots.”
Chester Charter’s path back started at the 3-point line. The Sabers hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter from four different players, and sunk five of their first nine looks from deep. But it proved to be an unsustainable rate.
Mackenzie Steele the second chance bucket. Tied at 44. 1:09 left. pic.twitter.com/2pbVH3R6xO
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) March 8, 2020
CCSA would hit eight triples on the day, but it evened out to an 8-for-24 shooting night. That’s what Susquehanna hoped for in weathering the early storm.
“You’ve just got to say calm and know that they’re not going to make those shots all the time,” Huyck said.
With a foothold in the game, CCSA took to denying the post adeptly. Despite Steele’s marked height advantage, she had only eight points, with CCSA getting in passing lanes to cause turnovers. Mackenzie Heath hit a pair of 3-pointer via Susquehanna’s inside-out action, but CCSA was able to stop most everything that wasn’t wearing Huyck’s No. 15.
Huyck had 16 points in the first half. Of Susquehanna’s 19 baskets, she hit 10 and assisted on four.
Down four at the half, CCSA came out and scored the first eight points of the third quarter, punctuated by a Brianna Miller 3-pointer.
“I said, ‘We’re down, we’ve got to go. I’m a senior, I don’t want to go out like this,’” Blackwell said.
The lead see-sawed, Huyck hitting a 3-pointer to put Susquehanna up 37-35 after three quarters. That lead stretched to 40-35 before Blackwell embarked on a personal 9-0 run to put CCSA up 44-40 with 2:21 to play. It included her hitting two free throws after a steal and intentional foul.
Blackwell scored all nine of CCSA’s fourth-quarter points as part of a team-high 17. Miller and D’Ayzsha Atksinson scored 11 points apiece. CCSA didn’t help its cause by missing its first eight free throws in a 4-for-12 day at the stripe.
Huyck wasn’t done, though. She hit a jumper to get Susquehanna within two, then Steele cleaned up a miss to tie the game with 1:08 remaining. Blackwell missed a leaner in the lane, and Huyck answered with her drive.
“I knew that we had a score and I saw an open lane, so I just went,” Huyck said.
She added two free throws for good measure to ice it.
Despite the ouster, it’s progress for CCSA, from last year’s rout to this season’s battle. Though it proved to be her last game, that fight heartens Blackwell.
“I think it gives everyone an opportunity to keep it going,” she said. “We have freshmen on the team and they’re pretty good too, so I think we’re going to keep it going.”
