Samar’s buzzer beater pushes Villa Maria past Lower Moreland in District 1-AAA quarters

LOWER MORELAND >> For three quarters it was a relatively below-average showing from Villa Maria freshman Julia Samar.

Samar had three points on 1-of-5 shooting and had been unable to get much of anything going. And even worse, her team had been losing for almost the entire time. That was, until she decided to completely take over the game.

“She (Samar) is just a freshman and never played in a district playoff game before, how about that?” Villa Maria head coach Kathy McCartney said. “She was just hitting every shot they gave her. She was open, we set the screen for her, they were going underneath and she had the shot so I told her to take them.”

Samar scored an incredible 13 points in the final quarter, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and most importantly, hit the game-winning layup as time expired to lift Villa Maria over Lower Moreland in the quarterfinals of the District 1-AAA playoffs.

“I was shaking the entire game,” said Samar when asked if she was nervous about her first playoff game. “After you start making a few the confidence level goes up and you start to settle down and that’s what happened for me late.”

If she was shaking in the fourth, she didn’t show it.

After Lower Moreland senior Lauren Killion hit a huge three with 10 seconds left to tie the game at 44, Villa called a timeout to get a play called, and the Hurricanes called Samar’s number.

She inbounded the ball, got it back from her teammate, made a quick crossover on Killion and got to the hoop just as time expired.

“I threw the the ball in and then got it right back, one on one, and I was able to just take the ball to the basket,” Samar said. “Especially going to my right hand I knew (it was going in).”

The game was a battle for the entire 32 minutes, and one that did not always look like Villa would have a chance to win.

After a fairly even first quarter that saw Lower Moreland pull to a 16-13 lead, Villa fell flat in the second, only managing to tally three points as the Hurricanes found themselves trailing 27-16 at the half.

“We just put ourselves in such a hole at halftime with that second quarter,” McCartney said. “We told ourselves, cut it in half by the end of the third quarter and give yourself a chance to win it in the fourth, and we did that.”

Thirteen points is an outstanding performance, but what stands out most is the magnitude of the shots Samar hit with her team facing elimination.

In the fourth quarter, she hit 3-pointers to tie it 36-36, another to tie it 41-41, and then one more to put the Hurricanes ahead 44-41 and that’s without mentioning her buzzer beater.

“At this time of year you’re not a freshman anymore,” said McCartney with a smile on her face. “everybody has to step up and you saw that tonight, unbelievable.”

This loss will sting for a while for the Lions. Not only were they leading for most of the game, but they had their own star player lighting up the stat sheet, looking poised to carry them to the next round.

Rachel Millan was outstanding for them, tallying a game-high 22 points, including 15 in the first half, but she just couldn’t keep up with Samar in the fourth.

“You saw in the second they started to double her (Millan) whenever she got it,” Lower Moreland head coach Rich Becker said. “And they should have been doubling her. We told her before the game she was going to be the best player on the floor and you saw that in the first half and they just started rolling their defense to her in the second half.”

Scoring was not the only problem for the Lions. Villa Maria played a much more fast paced and hectic style than what Lower Moreland is used to, and that caused it to give up the ball in crucial situations, which was especially harmful as the Lions tried to protect the lead.

“One on the concerns I had coming in was they had a deeper bench and they play in that Catholic League that is just more up-tempo,” Becker said. “That was my concern coming in, and I think you saw that tonight and it contributed to them getting some of those loose balls and causing turnovers.”

Villa is hoping this win can catapult them going forward. Next up for the Hurricanes is a matchup against Catholic Academies rival Merion Mercy at Harriton for the right to play in the District 1-AAA championship game.