ELYRIA – Elyria Catholic staged a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback and put together an overtime shutout Saturday afternoon to win its biggest game of the season to date.

The Panthers, trailing by eight points with just 3:30 left in regulation, made a gutsy 18-2 run from then to the end for a 58-50 victory and a share of first place in the North Coast League White Division. It avenged a 65-59 loss to VASJ on Jan. 14.

The game was tied at 50 at the end of four quarters, thanks to EC junior Emily Taylor’s drive to the hoop in the final 31 seconds.

The Panthers then made 8 of 12 foul shots in the four-minute overtime and held the Vikings scoreless. VASJ (12-5) and EC (14-3) are 8-2 in the NCL, each with three league games left.

The momentum began to swing in EC’s favor when junior Myrasia Flowers drained a 3-point shot with 2:45 to go. The shot not only launched the Panthers’ 18-2 run, it also kept them within striking distance, 48-43. From that point on, EC limited the Vikings to two foul shots over nearly seven minutes.

“I just remember being wide open,” Flowers said. “Emily (Taylor) penetrated and kicked it out to me. I was wide open and I just hit the shot. I was thinking, ‘Now we have to come back and play ‘D.’ We need to get a stop, come back and get another shot.”

The Panthers had to make two comebacks. They trailed 24-15 late in the second quarter, but reeled off eight straight points to cut the margin to 24-23 at the break. After that, the 5-foot-6 Taylor – who scored just two points the first half –came alive. She scored seven points in the third quarter and a total of 15 in the fourth quarter and overtime to finish with a game-high 24. She made 12 of 16 foul shots after the half.

Her performance was especially impressive since she has been ill and missed the last two days of school. She said she was motivated by her teammates.

“I looked at my team and we went through the same deal with (the Vikings) when we were playing at their place,” Taylor said. “We were up at halftime and they came back to beat us. I just looked at my team and I was like, ‘I’m not letting that happen again. I don’t care what it takes.’”

The Panthers got another strong job under the backboards from 5-11 junior Ashley Schuster, who came away with 11 rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals.

They also got a huge rebound from 6-0 senior Sara Schneider late in the overtime and another from 5-5 senior Mimi Rothgery shortly after that. Rothgery was fouled as she headed up court with the ball, then made two foul shots with 10.9 seconds left to finish the scoring.

“I knew if they got the rebound they’d get a putback,” Rothgery said. “I also knew we were in the double bonus and that could be a big thing. I missed two (foul shots) in the first half, and I’m a good foul shooter in practice. I was like, ‘This is ridiculous, I’m not going to miss two more.’”

EC coach Eric Rothgery said the Panthers’ two big runs built their confidence.

“That was tough, but I want to tell you the girls pulled down and got it from their guts,” he said. “I don’t know where they got it from, but this could be a big step for us. You know, Emily was sick, missed a couple days of school and I looked at her at the beginning of the second half and said, ‘She’s done. I thought she was done.’

“I don’t know where she grabbed it from. There’s something inside that kid that’s amazing. I’ve been coaching her since she was in the fourth grade and I probably know her better than anybody. She just said, ‘We are not losing today.’ She was so positive and so pumped up.”

Vikings coach Anthony Redding said poor shooting hurt his team.

“I just told them in there, we missed the front end of quite a few one-and-ones,” he said. “We missed free throws and they came down and hit that three (by Flowers).”

In fact, the Vikings missed nine of 17 foul shots, including the front end of two one-and-ones in the last 1:58. Had they made them, they could have won the game. VASJ also missed 51 field-goal attempts for the game.

Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or basketball@bobdaniels.info.

EC 58, VASJ 50

VASJ (50): Jessica Kohn 0-1-1, Taylor Kline 3-4-10, Marquia Ivey 0-0-0, Lexus Arnold 0-1-1, Jocelyn Abron 0-0-0, Alison Lee 6-0-14, Jessica Kravcyck 1-1-3, Abbie Fabo 8-1-21. Totals 18-8-50.

EC (58): Myrasia Flowers 2-1-6, Mimi Rothgery 1-2-4, Emily Taylor 6-12-24, Karissa McGrath 0-0-0, Tori Rothgery 2-0-5, Juliana Tremont 0-0-0, Ashley Schuster 5-4-14, Sara Schneider 2-1-5, Anna McNeeley 0-0-0. Totals 18-20-58.

VASJ               13            11            11            15            0              -           50

EC                       8              15            10            17            8              -           58

Three-point goals: VASJ 6-20 (Fabo 4, Lee 2), EC 2-7 (T. Rothgery, Flowers). Field goals: VASJ 18-69 (26 percent), EC 18-58 (31 percent). Free throws: VASJ 8-17, EC 20-34. Rebounds: VASJ 47, EC 32. Turnovers: VASJ 23, EC 20. Junior Varsity: Elyria Catholic, 44-18.

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