The Blue Storm has the chance to win its first-ever state title Saturday.
PHILADELPHIA - The Mercersburg Academy girls basketball team made history Friday with a win in its first-ever Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association tournament semifinal appearance to advance to the final with a chance to claim the PAISAA championship.
Mercersburg defeated Abington Friends 54-43 to move on to the championship game against two-time defending PAISAA champion Shipley at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The semifinal was a tight contest early, with Abington going on an eight-point run to take a 10-5 lead in the first quarter. But the Blue Storm has studied pressure shooting, and stayed calm to eventually rack up a nine-point run of their own and never looked back.
Abington threatened the lead in the third, but Joana Santos hit a shot to give Mercersburg a cushion heading into the final frame. Santos finished the game with 11 points, four assists and six rebounds.
Tori Yoder opened the fourth quarter scoring six straight points for the Blue Storm, ending the game with team-high 15 points, and flirted with a double-double by grabbing seven rebounds.
Sarah Lyman scored 10 points for Mercersburg (18-4), and Isiuwa Oghagbon earned a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
"Tonight we showed that on any given night, any one of our players can step up and lead us," Mercersburg coach Katie LaRue said. "Tonight it was Tori and Joana, with Sam Goldman doing a great job off the bench. This was another example of how balanced we are as a team."
Goldman had two steals in relief of Lyman, who got into foul trouble in the second quarter.
Hickson 2 1-2 6, Young 2 1-3 5, Remolde 5 0-0 10, Turner 3 0-0 6, A.Remolde 1 1-1 3, Middleton 6 1-2 13. Totals — 19 3-7 43.
Sam Goldman 0 0-0 0, Joana Santos 4 3-7 11, Tori Yoder 7 1-3 15, Sarah Lyman 3 4-7 10, Molly Taylor 2 1-2 6, Isiuwa Oghagbon 5 2-3 12, Carrie Jorlin 0 0-0 0. Totals — 21 11-22 54.
3-point goals — AF 2 (A.Remolde, Hickson), MA 1 (Taylor).