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Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Oakland Catholic's Erica Prosser, left, pulls in a rebound against New Castle's Jaleesa Sams. Click photo for larger image.
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And it squeezed the life out of the defending champions.
Unable to deal with a half-court, 1-2-2 trap employed by New Castle in the fourth quarter, Oakland Catholic (21-7) saw a nine-point lead after three quarters dwindle and turn into a 46-44 victory for the Hurricanes (27-1) last night in the WPIAL Class AAAA girls' basketball championship at Duquesne's Palumbo Center.
The Eagles committed six turnovers in the fourth quarter and watched a 33-24 lead dip to 33-31 in the span of 3:31 as Oakland Catholic's standout guard, Erica Prosser, a Lehigh recruit, watched from the bench with four fouls.
The Hurricanes took their first lead of the second half with 35 seconds remaining in the game after the second of two consecutive 3-pointers from guard Kara Joseph.
"This was my loss. You can put this one on me," Oakland Catholic coach Rich Irr said. "I had Erica in there late in the third quarter when she got her fourth [foul] and I should have had her on the bench. Without her in the game, we really struggled trying to get though that trap. So, yes, you can put this one on me, you can call it a coaching mistake."
New Castle coach Luann Grybowski agreed that Prosser's foul trouble was a big factor in the outcome.
"There is absolutely no question the fourth foul on Prosser changed the whole complexion of this game," Grybowski said. "When she was out, we knew we could go with that trap. Coming into this game, it wasn't something I necessarily wanted to do, but with Prosser out, we knew [Oakland Catholic guard] Amanda Sedlack was their only other option handling the ball and she pretty much needed to do everything for them then."
Prosser, who had 12 points, eventually fouled out with 1:12 remaining.
New Castle forward Jaleesa Sams scored a game-high 15 points. She had one point on 0-for-5 shooting in the first half.
Sams, who was visibly hobbled by a lingering knee injury, made the most crucial play of the game when she grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed free throw with 11.1 seconds left. She was immediately fouled and knocked down one of two free throws to make the score 46-44.
Sedlack missed a running 15-footer at the buzzer that would have tied the score.
"About 75 percent I would say," Sams, a 5-foot-11 North Carolina A&T recruit, said when asked about her health. "But I knew that I had to play. I just had to play hard down low."
Both teams earned spots in the PIAA playoffs, which begin next week. New Castle will play the winner of the preliminary-round game between Schenley and Norwin. Oakland Catholic will take on Shaler.
