KNOX, Pa. — Having watched what at one point was a 10-point lead completely disappear, Redbank Valley senior Brooke Hinderliter knew she had to do something or her Lady Bulldogs were going to fall once again to Keystone.
And do something Hinderliter did.
The school’s all-time leading scorer scored 17 of her team’s 21 fourth-quarter points, as Redbank Valley rallied past Keystone for a 50-40 win in KSAC South play Wednesday night at Keystone.
“I just felt our team needed to win because we deserved it,” Hinderliter, who finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds, said. “We really want to get a higher seed in the playoffs.”
The higher seed in the playoffs part started to take shape with the win.
Redbank Valley is now 15-5 overall and currently holds the No. 2 seed in the District 9 Class AA playoffs behind Karns City (18-2). The Lady Bulldogs are two games up on Moniteau (13-7) and two-and-half games ahead of Brookville (12-7). Redbank Valley beat Brookville earlier in the year meaning it pretty much assured itself either the two or the three seed with the victory.
“I was hoping to finish strong, and this just gives us that momentum,” Redbank Valley head coach Amy Twigg said. “Hopefully we can increase it by a game or two.”
Keystone, which trailed 20-10 late in the first half, took a 34-31 lead on an Amber Hess jumper with 6:02 left to play.
That’s when Hinderliter took over scoring eight consecutive points to help Redbank Valley regain the lead, 39-34, with 3:44 to play.
“She definitely stepped it up,” Twigg said. “We knew they were in foul trouble, and I kept telling the players if they got the ball to drive and take it to them. That is what Brooke did, and she finished and made a lot of foul shots. She definitely stepped up in that fourth quarter.”
Hinderliter was 11 of 13 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and 17 of 19 in the game.
“I just knew I had to make them because it was a really close game,” Hinderliter said.
While Hinderliter was the story of the fourth quarter, it was the rest of the Lady Bulldogs that helped Redbank Valley gain a 20-10 lead with just under four minutes to play in the first half.
Becca Dougherty scored five of her six points before halftime with Lexi Holt and Sam Landers each scoring four in the opening 16 minutes.
“They step up all the time when we need them,” Hinderliter said. “They are always chipping in and doing stuff. They are always a great help.”
Despite the early domination by Redbank Valley, Keystone showed why it’s a championship caliber team rallying late in the first half to get within five, 22-17, at halftime thanks to five points from Taylor Geer, who finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The Lady Panthers then kept coming in the third quarter eventually taking their first lead of the game, 28-27, on a Tessa Weaver layup late in the third quarter.
But Redbank Valley wouldn’t let Keystone get ahead by more than three points, and outscored the Lady Panthers 19-6 over the game’s final 5:31.
“Our girls have been maturing in that area where they stay composed,” Twigg said. “They don’t panic. They just keep playing one possession at a time making one stop at a time. I was proud of seeing the experience and leadership coming out with our defense. They didn’t get rattled. They just kept pushing.”
Holt added eight points for Redbank Valley with Dougherty also grabbing eight rebounds.
Hess had a team-high 14 points to go with six rebounds for Keystone, which fell to 13-6 on the year.
Both teams are back in action Friday with Redbank Valley hosting Moniteau and Keystone traveling to Union.
Story by Chris Rossetti
REDBANK VALLEY 50, KEYSTONE 40
Score by Quarters
Redbank 11 11 7 21 — 50
Keystone 8 9 11 12 — 40
REDBANK VALLEY — 50
Macy King 1-5 0-0 2, Lexi Holt 3-7 2-4 8, Becca Dougherty 2-8 1-2 6, Brooke Hinderliter 6-12 17-19 29, Sam Landers 2-7 1-4 5, Kera Fink 0-0 0-0 0, Alyssa Wiant 0-3 0-1 0. Totals 14-42 21-30 50.
KEYSTONE — 40
McKenzie Byerly 0-1 0-0 0, Kaci Weaver 0-6 2-5 2, Taylor Geer 5-12 3-4 13, Josselin Geer 3-16 2-6 9, Amber Hess 5-19 3-4 14, McKenzie Hovis 0-2 0-0 0, Tessa Weaver 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 14-58 10-19 40.
THREE-POINTERS — Redbank Valley 1-3 (Dougherty 1-2, Landers 0-1). Keystone 2-17 (J. Geer 1-5, Hess 1-7, Byerly 0-1, K. Weaver 0-1, T. Geer 0-2, Hovis 0-1).
