WHITEHALL TWP. — The first half went well for Crestwood on Wednesday night.
Then an opponent that could match the Comets’ size started causing problems.
Crestwood, though, endured a comeback bid from equally tall Freire Charter for a 52-45 victory in a PIAA Class 5A girls basketball second-round game at Whitehall High School.
“A win’s a win and that’s all that matters at this point of the season,” Crestwood coach Mary Mushock-Namey said.
District 2 champion Crestwood (25-4) will play District 1 fifth seed Strath Haven (15-13) on Saturday in the quarterfinals. Strath Haven defeated District 1 champion Radnor 53-44 in overtime.
Crestwood led 32-16 at halftime, but saw the advantage drop to 45-38 with 3:35 remaining in the game.
District 12 runner-up Freire (18-11) was able to cut the deficit for two reasons. First, the Dragons cleaned up turnover issues that led to the 16-point first-half deficit. Secondly, their size became troublesome on the boards.
Jackie Gallagher, who paced Crestwood with 19 points, Kate Gallagher and Charlie Hiller are all 6-foot and had a size advantage throughout the season. Freire was able to match up once it shook off its first-half problems.
“You definitely get used to being one of the tallest teams in the conference,” Jackie Gallagher said. “It was a big challenge for us. We have three girls who are six feet tall, so boxing out is a big thing for us.”
Crestwood took the lead for good with just over three minutes left in the first quarter, but there were several shaky moments in the second half.
Freire outscored Crestwood 29-20 after halftime. The Comets turned over the ball seven times in the third quarter as the Dragons outscored them 11-6.
The Comets seemed primed to seize complete control when Jordan Andrews scored on a fastbreak layup with 5:20 remaining for a 45-31 lead. Instead, Freire blasted off seven consecutive points behind point guard Destiny Davis.
Crestwood was able to work the clock in the final minutes and was able to seal the win at the foul line.
“I was worried about taking care of the basketball,” Mushock-Namey said. “We had a lot of turnovers in the second half. I was just trying to prevent it as much as possible, spread it out and take a couple minutes off or a couple seconds off the clock.”
Jackie Gallagher finished a rebound short of a double-double. Charlie Hiller had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Aliyah Cruz, who was a spark in the fourth quarter, had 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Freire. Anesah Cruz had a team-high 16 points, with 14 coming after halftime.
PIAA Class 5A Second Round
Crestwood 52, Freire Charter 45
FREIRE CHARTER (45) — Destiny Davis 5 1-2 13, Aliyah Cruz 3 2-2 10, Makhaya Dawkins 1 1-4 3, Anesah Cruz 6 3-7 16, Samiyah Williams 1 0-0 3, Era Wright 0 0-0 0, Peyton Lester 0 0-0 0, Khamiyah Shakur 0 0-0 0, London McIntosh 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 7-15 45.
CRESTWOOD (52) — Kate Gallagher 4 0-0 8, Kendall Petrosky 2 4-4 9, Jordan Andrews 2 0-0 4, Jackie Gallagher 7 4-6 19, Charlie Hiller 4 4-5 12, Cameron Vieney 0 0-2 0, Norah Sklarosky 0 0-0 0, Emilie Stofko 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 12-17 52.
Freire Charter`9`7`11`18 — 45
Crestwood`19`13`6`14 — 52
Three-point goals: FC 6 (Davis 2, Al.Cruz 2, An.Cruz, Williams). CRE 2 (Petrosky, J.Gallagher).
