Free throw shooting fix leads Bucs to second round state playoff win
Madison Simpson makes a layup against Bishop McCort. The senior guard scored 18 points in the win.
Alexa Williamson makes a layup in the Bucs' win over Bishop McCort. The senior forward scored 29 points in the win.
PLUM – In Chartiers-Houston’s first-round win over Cambridge Springs last Friday, the Bucs shot horrendously from the free throw line.
It didn’t matter, since Temple commit Alexa Williamson scored 51 points, but shooting 13-of-27 from the charity stripe isn’t a recipe for success. Take away the 6-2 senior forward, and it was even worse, as the rest of the Bucs made only four of 15 free throw attempts.
To find a solution for their free throw shooting woes, head coach Laura Montecalvo invited one of her former coaches, Joe D’Abruzzo, to practice to give the Bucs some pointers.
It worked.
The Bucs made 21 of its 25 free throw attempts, including making 17 in the fourth quarter, to defeat Bishop McCort 64-51 in the second round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs Tuesday night at Plum High School.
Jacob Calvin Meyer
Staff writer
jmeyer@observer-reporter.com
Seniors Jules Vulcano and Madison Simpson discuss Chartiers-Houston’s PIAA second round state playoff win. Vulcano scored 10 points and Simpson scored 18 points.
“I called on an old friend to help us with foul shots, because what I was doing wasn’t helping us,” Montecalvo said. “You don’t have to know everything. Sometimes you just have to know where to find the answers.”
Senior guard Madison Simpson said D’Abruzzo taught the team that rather than thinking about making the foul shot, which leads players to tense up, they should look at a specific spot on the rim and just aim for that.
“It was honestly something we subconsciously knew how to do, but it just came down to focusing more on it,” Simpson said. “It took the pressure off.”
With a player as talented as Williamson, often times she just takes over a game and is by far the most productive player for the Bucs (21-6). That wasn’t the case Tuesday night, though. While Williamson was still the best player on the floor- scoring a game-high 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds-Simpson scored 18 points in what she said was “easily” the best game of her career.
Jacob Calvin Meyer/Observer-Reporter
Madison Simpson drives to the basket in the Bucs’ win over Bishop McCort. Chartiers-Houston will play Bellwood-Antis in the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals Friday in Johnstown.
“That’s the best game of her career,” Montecalvo said. “It’s what she’s capable of when you let go of fear and you play. That’s what you saw out of her tonight.”
To start the game, District 6 champion Bishop McCort (21-7) led for almost all of the first half. After taking a 15-9 lead into the second quarter, the Crushers weren’t able to stop Williamson or Simpson, who combined to score 25 of Chartiers-Houston’s 27 points in the first half.
After leading 27-25 at halftime, the Bucs weren’t able to pull away in the third quarter, as Mikayla Martin, who scored 11 points, and Maddie Rozich both made three-pointers to enter the fourth quarter down by five points.
Early in the fourth quarter, Williamson committed her fourth foul. With the bad taste of the WPIAL title game against Vincentian still in Montecalvo’s mouth, the Bucs’ head coach decided to pull Williamson.
“I just went back to the nightmare of the WPIAL championship when she fouled out with almost seven minutes to go,” Montecalvo said. “I just didn’t want to make the same mistake again. I would rather have her in there at the end of the game.”
With Williamson on the bench for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, the Crushers, led by Bella Hunt, who led her team with 16 points, came back to tie the game at 43.
Then, with the Bucs leading by two points, Kirah Lindsay, who entered in for Williamson, saved a loose ball from going out of bounds and giving the Crushers possession. The sophomore guard acrobatically caught the loose ball near the out of bounds line, pirouetted and threw the ball to Jules Vulcano, who found a wide open Simpson for a layup.
“Our experience played into the (win),” Vulcano said. “We’ve been in some big situations in our four years. I think that really showed tonight.”
Jacob Calvin Meyer/Observer-Reporter
Alexa Williamson gets fouled while driving to the hoop.
Williamson then returned to the game, scoring eight points, six of which from the free throw line, to seal the win for the Bucs.
“Bishop McCort is a very good basketball team, but they’re very young,” Montecalvo said. “I think that was one advantage we had. We’ve played in a ton of big games in the WPIAL playoffs and the state playoffs, and I think that we know what the formula is to win when it’s close.”
Chartiers-Houston now moves on to play Bellwood-Antis in the PIAA quarterfinals Friday at a site and time to be determined. Bellwood-Antis knocked out the Bucs in last year’s PIAA second round and Montecalvo said the Blue Devils have the No. 5 girls basketball player in the country in Alli Campbell.
“I think our talk will be about redemption,” Montecalvo said. “Anytime you get a chance to beat a team who knocked you out in the playoffs before you wan’t that opportunity.”