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Central Mountain girls defeat Midd-West at home

TIM WEIGHT/For The Express Central Mountain coach Scott Baker talks to his team during a timeout against Midd-West on Friday at Mill Hall.

MILL HALL — Some hustle produced one last third-quarter scoring opportunity. Just 0.7 seconds remained, but that was enough.

Ava Renninger found Quinlynn McCann on the right wing and McCann buried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. McCann then took the game over in the fourth quarter and had a hand in 11 points during a 17-0 run as Central Mountain pulled away, Friday night and defeated Midd-West, 61-35.

That is how Central Mountain responds when things start going a little off script these days. And that is a big reason these Wildcats are writing one of the area’s best comeback stories in recent memory.

“We respond a lot better this year,” senior guard Avery Baker said after scoring a game-high 16 points. “It’s nice to have those little spurts. Those definitely bring us back. We all have to have confidence in ourselves.”

That is a titanic change and reveals a lot. Before going from winless to 6-16 last year, Central Mountain had won four games in six years. When things started going wrong in games, they really went wrong. But those days are gone, and Central Mountain (8-1) is a play from being undefeated while continuing the program’s best start since 2008.

TIM WEIGHT/For The Express Central Mountain's Ava Renninger drives against a handful of Midd-West players during Friday's game in Mill Hall.

Midd-West had cut a 22-point halftime deficit to 11 late in the third quarter and had visions of making a monster comeback. McCann all but slammed the door on those hopes with her buzzer-beater and Central Mountain dominated the fourth quarter, allowing just two more points as it continued taking large steps forward.

“It (the buzzer-beater) really helped a lot because I haven’t been shooting very well this season,” McCann said. “That got us going.”

Central Mountain has been going strong all season and stayed within one game of first place in the HAC-I behind Selinsgrove. Four players scored at least eight points, the Wildcats efficiently moved the ball, and the bench came up big.

Midd-West (4-6) opened the game on a 5-0 run, but coach Scott Baker called a timeout, his team regrouped and started dominating. Central Mountain led 22-9 after the first quarter, 38-16 at halftime and finished off the Mustangs by turning defense into offense with its swarming full-court press.

“It’s nice to be winning, but we feel like we have yet to play a full game. In spurts we’re phenomenal and then we get lackadaisical,” Central Mountain coach Scott Baker said. “At the end of third quarter we started pressing again and that’s what we have to do to keep us going hard. That gave us the spurt to get us back up.”

TIM WEIGHT/For The Express Central Mountain's Kiahna Jones tries to grab a rebound against Midd-West during Friday's game.

As it has been all season, it was different Wildcats heating up at different times. Defenses cannot really key on one or two players because all can do damage. That was evident early as seven Wildcats scored by the game’s 10-minute mark.

Kopysciansky was outstanding in the first half, making all three 3-point attempts and scoring nine points while adding four rebounds. Doyle added four rebounds off the bench and Baker scored 12 first-half points. Sophomore Kiahna Jones is a potential force inside who grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots, while Alyssa Fisher made four steals. Renninger, a freshman, dealt a game-high seven assists and added six rebounds.

“Last year it was definitely hard when I was playing point guard so it’s nice to have Ava. We can give some different looks and Ava’s good on the ball and she can dish it,” Avery Baker said after grabbing five rebounds, dealing three assists and making three steals. “Quinn is good at driving. We just have a bunch of people that can get you the ball and score it. It takes the pressure off.”

All five Central Mountain starters had scored five minutes into the game and the Wildcats closed the first quarter on a 22-4 run. They then closed the game on a 20-2 flurry, forced 20 turnovers and crashed the boards well.

McCann scored 11 points in her last six minutes played and also produced four rebounds, four steals and three assists. During one electric 28-second sequence, the senior guard drained a 3-pointer, made a steal and layup and fed Doyle for a layup as Central Mountain went up, 56-33.

TIM WEIGHT/For The Express Central Mountain's Mia Kopysciansky drives to the basket during Friday's game against Midd-West.

Something good has been started. It’s a step-by-step process, but each one climbed is significant considering where this started.

“We are moving in the right direction. Now the key is can we sustain this and develop that depth throughout the program?” Scott Baker said. “That’s the next step, but it’s nice to be where we’re at.”

MIDD-WEST (35)

Chloe Sauer 0 0-0 0, Rylee Shawver 3 0-0 8, Bella Fave 3 0-0 7, Alexis Walter 4 0-0 10, Makenna Dietz 1 0-0 2, Leah Ferster 1 0-0 2, Alyssa Snyder 3 0-0 6. Totals 15 0-0 35.

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (61)

Ava Renninger 2 4-6 8, Avery Baker 7 1-2 16, Quinlynn McCann 5 2-2 15, Kiahna Jones 1 2-2 4, Alyssa Fisher 2 0-0 5, Mia Kopysciansky 3 0-0 9, Reese Doyle 2 0-0 4, Mackenzie Bubb 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 9-12 61.

Midd-West 9 7 17 2–35

Central Mountain 22 16 9 14–61

3-point goals: Midd-West 5 (Shawver2, Walter 2, Fave 1), Central Mountain 8 (McCann 3, Kopysciansky 3, Baker 1, Fisher 1).

JV score: Central Mountain, 34-9.

Records: Central Mountain (8-1), Midd-West (4-7).

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