SHIPPENSBURG – The moment of truth came with 1:29 showing on the scoreboard clock at Shippensburg University’s Heiges Field House.
Granted, they’d known well before that moment, but as coach Bob Schaefer removed all his starters for the very last time, that’s when the painful reality began to hit home.
There would be no miraculous comeback for a Cheltenham Lady Panther squad that had surprised even itself during a magical season. There would be no trip to the state championship game with a chance to recapture a title the Lady Panthers had won in 2007.
All that remained was 89 seconds for the Cheltenham backups to close out Tuesday night’s PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal against Mount Lebanon. For some, the tears began almost immediately. Others waited until the final horn had sounded on Cheltenham’s 59-45 season-ending loss to the District 7 champions.
But just about everyone wearing a Lady Panther uniform had at least a trace of tears, and it was clear that something special had ended.
“It’s so hard,” senior co-captain Dayna McCrewell said. “I wanted us to win so bad. We had one more game left in us. We all did.
“It still hurts, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. We just have to keep our heads up because we had a great season. I still don’t believe this is our last game, but it is.”
“It’s really, really hard,” junior Monet Constant added. “As a team we worked so hard. We really wanted to go all the way this year.
“It was a great season. I enjoyed this so much even though we didn’t get as far as we hoped we would. It was really hard to see it end.”
As the players exchanged tearful hugs, there was not only an unmistakable feeling of family but also a sense of pride. Winning 28 games and losing just three was no small feat for a Panther squad that barely surpassed the .500 mark last season.
“It’s terrific,” Schaefer said. “It’s a season for them to be very proud of. I told them before the game, ‘Like you have done all season, play your hearts out, put it all on the line and stand proud because it’s been a wonderful season.’
“I think they did that. You’re not always the best team. They were a very good team.”
There were very early signs of trouble for the Lady Panthers. For starters, the Blue Devils needed less than five seconds to get on the scoreboard on a bucket by sophomore Madison Cable off the opening tap.
Things only went downhill from there.
The Lady Panthers – who were once against without Shayla Felder (fractured tibia), their primary ball handler - turned the ball over seven times before they put any points on the board. By that time, the Blue Devils had a 10-0 lead.
“I think we just weren’t ready,” sophomore point guard Tiffany Johnson said. “We kept talking about how good they were on defense. No one has ever played us that hard fullcourt the entire game.
“We weren’t expecting them to come out as good as they did.”
The Lady Panthers finally got on the scoreboard with 3:20 remaining when Jenna Peoples scored on a putback, but the Blue Devils answered with five straight points to go on top 15-2.
“We weren’t playing as a team,” said Constant, who led the Lady Panthers with 13 points. “We didn’t run our offense, we didn’t run our plays.
“We didn’t get many shots off. Everybody was doing their own thing, and I think we forgot how we got here – by playing together.”
The Lady Panthers began to find their stride late in the first quarter. McCrewell banked home a shot, and after a Lebo turnover, Johnson scored in the paint. Another Lebo turnover resulted in a spinning, twisting bucket by Johnson, a play that not only made it a 15-8 ball game but also invoked the ire of Lebo coach Dori Oldaker, who called an immediate timeout.
“We let them right back in the game,” she said to no one in particular.
But not for long.
The Blue Devils scored four quick points to regain their double-digit lead. It was a pattern that was repeated throughout the game.
Every time the Lady Panthers made a big play, the Blue Devils responded with one of their own. It was a 23-10 game when Constant scored five straight points from the foul line to pull the Lady Panthers to within eight.
Again, the Blue Devils had an answer, scoring four straight to go back on top 27-15. They took a 31-17 lead into the intermission.
Constant buried a trey to open the third quarter, but Jessica Babe sank a pair from the foul line. McCrewell scored on a putback, but Emily Miller, who had a game-high 17 points answered with a three-point play.
The Blue Devils extended their lead to 39-22, but Johnson hit nothing but net on a trey, and after a Lebo miss, Constant buried another three-pointer, making it a 39-28 game only to watch Mount Lebanon regroup to go on top 46-33 at the end of three quarters
The Lady Panthers had one last run left in them.
Johnson, who had 12 points in another strong outing, connected for a basket, and then Liz Taliaferro turned a defensive rebound into a fast break bucket. Another Mount Lebanon miss set the stage for another Johnson bucket, making it 48-39 game with 5:54 remaining.
“We lost giving our all,” Constant said. “In the second half, we started playing our game. I just wish we would have the whole game. It would have been different.”
The Panthers’ hustling defense created what looked like a turnover, but the loose ball found its way into the hands of Angele Hagy in the paint, and her bucket all but sealed the Panthers’ fate.
“I think their tight defense and pressure just rattled us, and we couldn’t come back from that 10-point deficit,” said McCrewell, who had eight points, 10 rebounds and three steals in her high school finale. “We kept trying, but it didn’t happen.
“I thought we could do it, but every time we got within eight, 10, they would come right back,” Johnson said. “We could never get past the eight, 10-point mark.”
Mount Lebanon, which improved to 30-0, looked as good as its press clippings on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils will face the ultimate test on Friday when they take on Cardinal O’Hara in the state title game.
Although the Lady Panthers were going home for the season, Schaefer was proud of their effort.
“When you looked at the tape, you knew we were up against a real tough team,” he said. “If we were full strength, it might have been different, but I’m not saying if we’d win or not.
“I just think we were a little tense at the beginning of the game. I don’t want to say we didn’t play well. They made us not play well. That’s the best defense we have been up against all year.”
The Panthers graduate starters McCrewell and Peoples but return a strong group of underclassmen, and one of the Lady Panthers’ future stars put the season in perspective.
“It was good,” Johnson said. “We lost three games. Nobody expected us to be here. We made it to the district championship game. We were so close to the state championship. It was good, very good.”
“It was a lot of fun,” Constant added. “A lot of fun.”
MOUNT LEBANON 59, CHELTENHAM 45
Mount Lebanon (59) – Anna Kestler 1 0-0 2, Emily Miller 6 3-3 17, Jessica Babe 4 4-5 12, Chelsea Apke 4 1-2 10, Madison Cable 3 5-6 12, Lauren Arbogast 1 0-1 2, Angele Hagy 2 0-0 4, Catherine Guerra 0 0-0 0, Rosie McClain 0 0-0 0, Cecelia Woodyard 0 0-0 0, Sarah Nydes 0 0-0 0, Jessica Wingen 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 13-17 59.
Cheltenham (45) – Jenna Peoples 1 0-2 2, Monet Constant 3 5-6 13, Tiffany Johnson 5 1-2 12, Dayna McCrewell 4 0-1 8, Sydni Epps 2 1-3 5, Kira Ogden 0 0-0 0, Lorraine Oliver 0 0-0 0, Brenda James 0 0-0 0, Ciara Andrews 0 0-2 0, Ka’Ela Taylor 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-16 45.
Mount Lebanon 19 12 15 13-59
Cheltenham 10 7 16 12-45
Three-point goals: Mount Lebanon – Emily Miller 2, Chelsea Apke, Madison Cable. Cheltenham – Monet Constant 2, Tiffany Johnson, Liz Taliaferro.
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