WILKES-BARRE — The game-deciding shot was drawn up much differently, with Lauren Charlton acting more like a diversion to open up avenues of real damage.
But at the last minute, the smooth-shooting guard put her own twist on the plot.
Charlton suddenly spun and drove the lane, right to the go-ahead layup with 10 seconds remaining Friday. Bella Hill then sealed the 51-49 victory with a foul shot as Dallas overcame an eight-point deficit with under eight minutes left to sting Wilkes-Barre Area in a rollercoaster of a girls basketball game at Coughlin High School.
“This just boosts our confidence even more,” said Charlton, whose game-high 18 points helped the 3-0 Mountaineers remain even with Berwick at the top of Division 1 of the Wyoming Valley Conference. “It’s definitely uplifting. So proud of everyone on the team.”
Someone else was supposed to take the final shot, though.
Trailing by a point with possession of the ball, Dallas ran 13 seconds off the clock as Charlton — known more for playing outside — set up with her back to the basket just outside the foul line and took a pass from a teammate.
“We were running a four-out, trying to get an open look,” Dallas coach Kelly Johnson said. “We thought their defense would swarm on her (Charlton). We have other guards who are strong shooters and strong offensive players. We thought the defense would be collapsing on her.”
Then Charlton changed the script.
She suddenly whirled and shook her defender, finding nobody between her and the basket. The University of Pennsylania commit then dashed down the lane for a running layup that left the Mountaineers with a 50-49 advantage with 10 seconds on the clock.
“Honestly, it wasn’t planned at all,” Charlton said. “We have a play where we pull everyone out and I find the open player and pass it. I just turned and found that open lane and, thankfully, it went in.”
It went back and forth for most of the game.
Wilkes-Barre Area, coming off its first loss of the season, charged out of the gates with the game’s first six points and held a 10-4 lead midway through the first quarter, as Allycia Harris got started on her 16-point, 17-rebound night with eight points and seven boards in the opening period.
But Charlton scored her first seven points in the quarter, Morgan McNeely added four more and Deanna Wallace tossed in a 3-pointer as the Mountaineers pulled within 18-16 by quarter’s end.
As each team threatened to pull away, the other never backed down.
Behind a bucket and seven rebounds off the bench from Yansel Perez, Wilkes-Barre gained control with a 23-16 lead early in the second quarter — only to have Dallas grab the momentum back.
Nadia Evanosky hit a 3-pointer 19 seconds from halftime and Charlton tossed in an over-the-shoulder layup just before the buzzer to send Dallas into the break holding a 27-23 advantage.
That grew to 30-23 on Charlton’s 3-pointer to start the second half, but by the end of the third quarter, Wilkes-Barre was back in the driver’s seat.
Harris re-established the inside with eight points and four rebounds and Vanessa Luna came off the Wolfpack bench with a pair of 3-pointers and a breakaway layup as Wilkes-Barre raced to a 45-37 lead entering the final eight minutes.
“That team is very quick and very aggressive,” Johnson said. “I think it caught a lot of us by surprise.”
But Dallas didn’t fold.
Dallas made defensive stops and Claire Charlton, Wallace and Emily Weiland all had baskets as the Mountaineers closed within two points by scoring the first six points of the last quarter.
Hill’s third 3-pointer of the game put Dallas back in front, 48-47, with 56 seconds remaining. But Alana Germano — the only player to score for the Wolfpack during the final quarter — hit her second basket on a layup that left Wilkes-Barre Area in front, 49-48, with 39 seconds to play.
It only set the stage for one final turn of events from Lauren Charlton.
“She steps up at critical times,” Johnson said. “She certainly did that tonight.”
Dallas 51, Wilkes-Barre Area 49
DALLAS (51) — Morgan McNeely 1 3-4 5, Haley Habrack 0 0-0 0, Bella Hill 5 1-2 14, Lauren Charlton 6 4-4 18, Claire Charlton 2 0-0 4, Deanna Wallace 2 0-0 5, Julia Kocher 0 0-0 0, Emily Weiland 1 0-0 2, Nadia Evanosky 1 0-0 3. Totals 18 8-10 51.
WILKES-BARRE AREA (49) — Gloria Adjayi 4 2-2 10, Reagan Holden 1 0-0 2, Hannah Cook 0 1-4 1, Bella Gray 1 0-1 2, Allycia Harris 8 0-4 16, Vanessa Luna 4 0-0 10, Yansel Perez 1 0-1 2, Alana Germano 2 0-0 4, Erin Leonard 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 3-12 49.
Dallas`16`11`10`14 — 51
WBA`18`5`22`4 — 49
Three-point goals — DAL 7 (Hill 3, L. Charlton 2, Wallace, Evanosky); WBA 2 (Luna 2).
