West Shamokin girls suffer 41-38 OT loss to Penns Manor in D6 quarterfinals

By Josh Shreckengost

West Shamokin senior point guard Abby Oesterling knocks down a runner in the fourth quarter of the Wolves' 41-38 overtime loss to Penns Manor in the District 6-2A quarterfinals on Tuesday night. Oesterling finished the contest with a team-high14 points.

Rural Valley, Pa. -- Though the West Shamokin girls varsity basketball team entered the District 6-2A playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the bracket, head coach Frank Nagy knew his squad would be in for a battle when No. 7 Penns Manor entered the Wolves Den on Tuesday night for a quarterfinal round match-up.

The two teams split the regular season series with each winning on its home court. The third and most critical showdown would result in one team moving forward and the other calling it a season. While West Shamokin rallied from an early deficit to lead by eight points with just six minutes in regulation, the Comets found a way to pull out an improbable victory on the road in overtime, 41-38.

"Coach Nagy does such a great job with this West Shamokin team, so many great players and I just have so much respect for them and the program," Penns Manor head coach Jason Miloser said. "I couldn't be more proud of my girls, the way they stuck together. We got down in the fourth quarter and we just kept picking each other up. I just can't say enough about the effort from all of our girls tonight."

The Comets took the lead in the first quarter thanks to a couple of threes by junior guard Megan Dumm and held the Wolves to just five points in the frame. West Shamokin struggled with turnovers in the period and after the first eight minutes, it looked as if Penns Manor had a formula to stop Sophie Fusaro, the team's leading scorer. The Comets were switching on every screen an