PIAA Class 5A Girls Basketball: Gilliard calmly ends Springfield’s season at the line

SHILLINGTON — Rachel Conran shrugged her shoulders in disbelief, as if to say she had no idea how in the world she made that shot.

The Springfield junior launched a desperation 3-pointer from about 25 feet as time expired in the third quarter. The ball hit the backboard and went in. Springfield’s bench erupted as the Cougars took a six-point lead into the final quarter of Wednesday’s PIAA Class 5A second-round game with Mechanicsburg.

The Cougars had every right to feel confident about their chances to advance.

“After hitting that shot, I really felt that the momentum was on our side,” Conran said. “I mean, I didn’t think that we had it won because we knew this team wasn’t going to give up after the third quarter. But I felt that, going into the fourth, we were feeling good …

“Unfortunately, it just didn’t fall our way.”

The Cougars’ opponents from District 3 rallied in the fourth quarter behind junior guard Talia Gilliard, who hit the go-ahead free throws with 10.3 seconds to go. Springfield’s memorable season came to a crushing end via a 36-35 loss at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School.

The Cougars nearly had the game won, too.

Springfield’s Alyssa Long made a steal with the Cougars leading by a point with 30 seconds to play. Long was fouled and made both of her free-throw shots, a scene reminiscent of the District 1 championship game last month when the senior guard went 8-for-8 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter to lift the Cougars to their second title in four seasons.

This time the Cougars were unable to finish the job.

“They are a good team,” Springfield coach Ky McNichol said. “They played lockdown defense on (Alexa) Abbonizio and I felt like we had to find other ways to score. I thought we did a good job of getting Rachel Conran some open shots, and she did a great job of hitting shots for us tonight. We looked alive, playing good basketball in the third quarter, but then we let this one fall out of our hands a little bit.”

The Wildcats (26-3) didn’t rush a 3-point attempt when they trailed by three following Long’s free throws. Instead, forward Emma Castilla scored a layup and coach Clay McAllister immediately called a timeout with 19.1 seconds left.

“I thought we did a good job there, getting that 2, and not forcing anything,” McAllister said. “That gave us a chance to set our defense.”

Springfield couldn’t crack Mechanicsburg’s trap defense off the inbound pass. Gilliard eventually recovered the loose ball and was fouled. She calmly swished both free throws to put Mechanicsburg on top to stay.

“We really work on defense and that creates chances for our offense. We like to make things happen with our defense,” said Gilliard, who poured in a game-high 17 points. “The more that we trap, the more we can run, the more that we can score.”

Mechanicsburg advances to the quarterfinal round of a PIAA tournament for the first time in program history. The Wildcats will take on Villa Maria, the fifth-place finisher out of District 1.

Springfield had one final chance to win out of a timeout. Long dribbled up floor and eventually kicked out to Jordan Postiglione in the corner. Postiglione hurried a 3-point shot that was off the mark.

“There were many options there,” McNichol said. “You have your two shooters wide, you have Alyssa on the drive and Carli (Johnston) low on the block. We just told Alyssa to make the best decision that she saw out there.”

Conran carried the Cougars offensively with 16 points on six triples. Long added four points and four assists, while freshman Anabel Kreydt hopped off the bench to grab a team-high seven rebounds to go with four points.

When she looks back on the season, Long will have positive memories. The Cougars overcame the departure of 1,000-point scorers Jordan D’Ambrosio and Belle Mastropietro to win 24 games and a District 1 championship.

“These are some of my best friends, the 14 of us were all really close. It was a great season,” Long said. “To leave with two district championships and a Central League championship, over 80 wins, it’s a great way to go out with the six seniors that I get to spend every day with for the last 12 years. It’s coming to an end — all of high school —  but I’m very happy to have the experience with all of my teams here at Springfield.”