The Blairsville Bobcats girls’ basketball team prevailed Wednesday night but had to survive an early fourth-quarter surge by the Homer-Center Wildcats. In the end, it was Blairsville moving on to the District 6 semifinals with a 44-40 win.
Defense played a huge role for most of the game, as Blairsville held Homer-Center to just three field goals with a mix of zone defenses in the first half and led by 12 points at halftime. The lead slipped a little in the third quarter, with Blairsville coughing up eight possessions against Homer-Center’s press and taking a 31-22 lead to the fourth quarter.
The turnovers started catching up to Blairsville in the fourth quarter and Homer-Center chipped the lead down to one point. But Blairsville made 7 of 11 foul shots in the final frame to hold on.
McKenzie Misleany led the defensive effort with seven steals and hit a couple of key 3s on her way to 10 points. Rena Enterline scored 18 points to lead Blairsville. Emily Worcester led the Wildcats with 12 points.
Blairsville earned a berth in the state playoffs. But first it must travel Monday to Bishop McCort, where Blairsville lost by just four points just before Christmas.
Other scores:
District 6 AA girls: Bellwood-Antis 73, Penns Manor 41
WPIAL AAA boys: Indiana 69, Elizabeth Forward 68 in OT
