EXETER — The final 8.9 seconds Friday night seemed to last forever for Dallas.
The Mountaineers saw Berwick miss a free throw, then a shot inside and then have its final hope swatted away.
The buzzer ended one frenzy and started another as Dallas held on for a 41-40 overtime victory in a District 2 Class 4A girls basketball semifinal game at Wyoming Area Secondary Center.
Dallas (22-4) will play for a district title for the first time since winning the D2-3A crown in 2003 when it faces Scranton Prep (24-0) at 6 p.m. Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena. Friday’s victory also locked up the Mountaineers’ first state playoff spot since finishing third in Class 3A in 2004.
Berwick (15-9) drops to Tuesday’s third-place game where the Dawgs will play Nanticoke Area (13-11) for the district’s final state berth.
Dallas led just twice all game — 39-38 on a 3-pointer by Bella Hill at 1:03 of overtime and 41-40 on an inside basket by Lauren Chartlon off a perimeter pass from Morgan MacNeely with 21 seconds left.
“We been playing with each other for like 10 years,” MacNeely said. “We’re best friends and we have such good chemistry and know where each other is going to be on the court. That’s with our whole team. We have such great chemistry.”
After Charlton’s bucket, Dallas had to stop Berwick over the final 21 seconds. The Dawgs worked the clock to 11 seconds before calling a timeout. Once play resumed, they missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw with 8.9 seconds remaining, couldn’t score on a shot on the rebound and then had their final shot blocked by Dallas’ Nadia Evanosky.
“It literally goes by so slow,” MacNeely said. “It’s the last nine seconds and we have to want to win more than they do. It’s really crazy, but we have to keep our composure and win the game.”
Dallas started the game in a 6-0 hole and trailed 16-13 at halftime as Berwick’s Katie Starr scored nine of her game-high 20 points.
“We didn’t have a great first half,” Dallas coach Kelly Johnson said. “Our shots weren’t falling. We scored only 13 points in the first half, so we told the kids to keep shooting the ball if you’re open, keep looking to attack the basket, keep pushing the ball in transition if you have opportunities.
“Just take advantage of whatever the defense gives us.”
Dallas managed to tie the score 20-20 at 2:43 of the third quarter, but Berwick went on a 9-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter. Starr, who also had 12 rebounds, caused a good portion of the damage. An inside basket by Renny Murphy bumped the Dawgs’ lead to 31-22 with 5:10 left in regulation.
The Mountaineers quickly closed the deficit and forced overtime when Julia Kocher hit a 3-pointer and Chartlon closed out the fourth with a basket to force a 36-36 tie.
District 2 Class 4A Semifinals
Dallas 41, Berwick 40 OT
BERWICK (40) — Morgan Nevel 4 3-6 11, Sarah Steeber 0 0-0 0, Renny Murphy 2 0-0 4, Katie Starr 8 4-6 20, Emily Ouilet 0 0-0 0, Jackie Nevel 1 0-0 2, Abby Burt 0 0-0 0, Rachel Whitenight 1 1-4 4. Totals 16 8-16 41.
DALLAS (41) — Morgan MacNeely 2 0-0 5, Haley Habrack 1 0-0 3, Deanna Wallace 2 2-3 7, Lauren Charlton 5 0-0 11, Claire Charlton 0 2-2 2, Bella Hill 2 0-0 6, Emily Weiland 0 0-0 0, Julia Kocher 2 0-0 5, Nadia Evanosky 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 4-5 40.
Berwick`9`7`8`12`4 — 40
Dallas`9`4`7`16`5 — 41
Three-point goals — BER 1 (Whitenight). DAL 7 (MacNeely, Habrack, L.Charlton, Wallace, Hill 2, Kocher).
