Panthers get even, knock off Tornadoes
MOUNT CARMEL — Every great team, like movies, needs a great supporting cast.
Bloomsburg had that Tuesday night in its 54-50 win over Mount Carmel in PHAC girls basketball action.
The win avenged the Panthers’ lone loss of the year when they lost to the Red Tornadoes earlier this month.
Bloomsburg got solid contributions from its starting five, but it was freshman Brynna Zentner who played the role of the underdog hero.
With the Panthers leading by two and possessing the ball in the waning seconds, the Tornadoes fouled Zentner. It sent her to the line for two free throws in an attempt to ice the game.
Her first lob went high and right through the net to give the Panthers a three-point lead. Coach John Wittman had already made up his mind to talk scheme, regardless of the result.
“I knew I was calling a timeout between the free throws to get our team set no matter what happened on the second free throw,” he said. “I didn’t see any nerves on Brynna, but I apologized to her.
“She said ‘no problem’ and I said ‘don’t worry, you’re going to make the free throw anyway and seal the deal.’”
Zentner did just that, exciting the team and its fans as she put the Panthers up two possessions.
“As a freshman, it’s very nerve-wracking,” Zentner said. “You want to help win the game for your team, but it was a great range of emotions, but mostly excitement to get the chance to take those shots and put the ball in the net.”
Zentner finished with 11 points, scoring nine of those in the final frame.
On the other side of the spectrum, Mount Carmel coach Lisa Varano wasn’t one to hang her head any. She took a lot of positives away from the loss as the Tornadoes prepare for district playoffs next week.
“Sometimes you play a good game and you lose to a good team,” she said. “There was a lot of good things here for us today, and I think that will help us moving forward into the playoffs.
“... I just think we matched. It was a back-and-forth game... I’m not taking anything away from Bloomsburg, but I think we play them 10 times, it could go 5-5. I thought that we played well tonight, we missed some easy shots, we had some bad turnovers — we clean that up, I think we’ll be OK.”
The Tornadoes lost all of their rhythm in the final minute, having issues in its transition game, committing three turnovers. They also went 1 of 4 at the line in that span. Overall, the biggest difference may have come down to production at the line as Mount Carmel went 13-for-17 as Bloomsburg went 12-for-14.
The Tornadoes’ offense was sparked by the production of Dani Rae Renno. Held scoreless in the first quarter, the senior erupted for 26 points the rest of the way, scoring 13 in the second quarter. For much of the game, she was seen camping under the hoop and making the close-range shots despite having some great coverage.
Wittman gives credit to some of the lesser-known players from keeping Renno and the Tornadoes from having an even bigger night.
“I think Brynna Zenter played fantastic off the bench. I think Olivia Hull did a fantastic job off the bench.” Wittman said. “... I think Ellen Hull hitting that clutch three after playing a full game of some knockdown solid defense, and it’s impressive.”
No other Mount Carmel player turned in a double-digit scoring performance, while the Panthers got 11 from Rylee Klinger and 12 from Madeline Evans to go with Zentner’s big night.
“I think our girls played well. Bloomsburg has one loss, so we didn’t lose to a bad team,” she said. “I think we had some people in the fourth quarter, in the end, that were trying to make some, and Bloomsburg made some good plays. So, I have to give the credit to them, and not the blame to my girls.”
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