Smith steals win for Great Valley

EAST WHITELAND >> Facing a tie game with under 20 seconds remaining, Ashlyn Smith needed to make a play with Great Valley not having possession.
With Wilson-West Lawn holding the ball for the final shot, Smith saw an opportunity to get the Patriots the ball back. In a game which featured 35 fouls to that point and Great Valley in the bonus, Smith figured going for a steal at the top of the key was a risky move.
“They were calling so many fouls in the game, I didn’t know what they’d call next,” Smith said. “I figured I might as well go for it. There was only like five seconds left on the clock. I was just trying to make a play.”
Smith stole the ball from Jen Wallace and dribbled for a layup with 5.4 seconds left to lead Great Valley in a thrilling 44-40 nonleague victory over Wilson Tuesday night.
On a night where Smith was bloodied and battered in the post, she scored the last six points for the Patriots (3-0) to keep them undefeated after three games. Smith’s night turned once she took an elbow to the face with 6:42 left to go in the third quarter.
Prior to the injury, she was 1-for-7 from the field and 1-for-5 from the free-throw line despite the Patriots holding a 25-22 lead. Once Smith returned, she hit a baseline jumper to put Great Valley up 29-24 with 2:59 left in the quarter.
That was the start of Smith willing Great Valley to a victory over one of the top teams in Section 1 of the Berks Inter-County League.
“What a gutsy performance,” said Great Valley head coach Alex Venarchik. “For the way she came back and responded after taking that hit in the head showed tremendous guts. That’s what we look to her for. That type of leadership.”
It wasn’t an option for Smith to come back into the game after getting checked in the locker room. Great Valley already lost Kodi Campetti in the opening minutes to an ankle injury and trailed 10-0 to start the game.
The Patriots overcame Campetti’s injury and the deficit to tie the game 21-21 at halftime. Smith wanted to finish the job and get Great Valley to 3-0.
“I’m proud of my team over overcoming that deficit and fighting back,” Smith said. “Losing a very good point guard like Kodi hurts, but that win was for her. She missed so much time last season and deserved to be out there with us. That was great to see our team rally.”
With the Patriots trailing 40-36 with 1:48 left, Christina Porreca drew a foul and hit both free throws to cut the deficit to 40-38. Porreca led Great Valley with 15 points on the night.
After Molly Reinhart missed a layup to give Wilson a four-point lead, Smith grabbed the rebound and as fouled over the back by Wallace. Great Valley was in the bonus and Smith made the front end of the 1-and-1 to cut the deficit to 40-39 with 40 seconds left. Smith also make the second free throw to tie the game 40-40.
The Bulldogs (1-1) decided to hold on to the ball for the last shot, but Smith had other plans. Once Wallace got the ball at the top of the key, Smith took the biggest risk of the game.
“I saw her bobble the ball a bit and an opportunity,” Smith said. “I really wanted to get the win for us, so luckily it worked out.”
Wilson earned a chance to tie it with 3.1 seconds left as Kelly Ebner received a full-court heave and was fouled on a layup attempt. Needing to make both free throws to force overtime, she missed the first and intentionally missed the second to give the ball back to Great Valley.
Smith got open on the inbounds bass and was fouled immediately with 0.8 to go. She made both free throws to seal the win and finish with 11 points for the game.
The win gave the Patriots confidence they can survive the close games and beat upper-tier teams. The next key for Great Valley as it heads into Ches-Mont play Thursday night is staying healthy.
The Patriots paid the price for beating Wilson with Campetti and Smith missing time due to injuries.
“We have not been healthy for a long time,” Porreca said. “This win says a lot about our team and how we fight. We deserved this one.”
“We’re going to do really well this season if we keep everyone healthy,” Smith said. “We have a chance to win the Ches-Mont and if we play to our ability we can do it.”

Great Valley 44, Wilson 40
Wilson (40): Winfield 1 3-4 5, Reinhart 0 2-4 2, Ebner 6 1-4 13, Owens 2 5-5 11, Wallace 2 2-2 7, Myer 0 0-0 0, Sesay 0 2-4 2, Huber 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 15-23 40.
Great Valley (44): Campetti 0 0-0 0, Porreca 4 7-8 15, Buzan 2 0-0 4, Smith 3 5-10 11, Aker 2 4-7 8, Flynn 2 0-0 4, D’Imperio 0 2-2 2. Totals: 13 18-27 44.
Wilson 12 9 10 9 – 40
Great Valley 7 14 10 13 – 44
3-point goals: Owens 2, Wallace.