Quickley scores 30 as No. 8 Kentucky downs Texas A&M 69-60

Review: An unlikely friendship is at the heart of 'Burden'

YATESVILLE &mdash; The Berwick Bulldogs pointed to their dogged determination, never-ending drive and disruptive press defense as key components that turned a losing battle into victory.
				Ultimately, though, a fearless freshman changed their state fate.
				Rachel Whitenight&rsquo;s five-point flurry early in the fourth quarter, then hit a free throw with 12 seconds to play Tuesday as Berwick rallied from a game-long deficit to push past Nanticoke Area, 40-36 in a girls basketball play-in game for the PIAA Class 4A Tournament at Pittston Area High School.
				&ldquo;That stretch there got us all together,&rdquo; Whitenight said. &ldquo;As all of us started making shots, we started getting up.&rdquo;
				It was Whitenight who made the most critical ones.
				With Nanticoke Area holding a four-point advantage, Whitenight came off the bench and popped a 3-pointer less than a half-minute into the fourth quarter to pull the Bulldogs within 27-26.
				&ldquo;She&rsquo;s a great spark for us off the bench,&rdquo; Berwick coach Bill Phillips said.
				That was the first basket she made on the night.
				&ldquo;He always says take the shots you never think you can make,&rdquo; Whitenight said, nodding toward Phillips, &ldquo;because we have rebounders inside.&rdquo;
				Her second bucket was even more impressive.
				Seconds later, Whitenight stepped in front of an inbounds pass, intercepted it, and tossed up a reverse layup attempt over her shoulder while being pushed away from the basket and without looking at the rim.
				It swished in.
				&ldquo;I was kind of like, &lsquo;Hey, where is it?&rsquo; &rdquo; Whitenight said of the shot. &ldquo;I did turn to see it go in. Even if it didn&rsquo;t go in, we have players who can rebound.
				&ldquo;It was great to do it.&rdquo;
				It gave the Bulldogs their first lead, 28-27, with 6:47 remaining.
				&ldquo;And it means so much,&rdquo; Berwick star scorer Katie Starr said, &ldquo;especially since she&rsquo;s a freshman. That definitely got us pumped up and gave us momentum to win the game.&rdquo;
				Pretty soon afterward, the Bulldogs were celebrating taking third in Class 4A and heading to a state opener a week from Saturday against the winner of the District 4 championship game between Danville and Athens.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s such a thrill to finally be in the state tournament,&rdquo; Starr said. &ldquo;It feels amazing.&rdquo;
				For a long while, it felt like deja vu to the Bulldogs.
				They&rsquo;re heading to the the PIAA playoffs for the third time in four years. But last year it was this same Nanticoke Area team that kept Berwick out by handing the Bulldogs an 11-point loss in this same District 2 third-place game.
				And even with leading scorer, ballhandler and 3-point shooter Riley Baird sitting on the bench in street clothes after being ruled out because of illness, the Trojanettes quickly grabbed control.
				Abby Cullen&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 63 seconds left in the opening quarter staked Nanticoke Area to a 10-point lead. And after Abby Burt pulled Berwick within 19-18 with a 3-pointer of her own in the closing minutes of the first half, Nanticoke Area responded with an eight-point run &mdash; fueled by treys by Cullen and Emily Hauer &mdash; to start the second and widen the gap to nine points.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an illness, a flu-type thing,&rdquo; Nanticoke Area coach Ed Grant said of Baird&rsquo;s absence. &ldquo;Our girls stepped up, though. Our gameplan was there, we executed it, our girls battled all the way to the end.&rdquo;
				It ended up with a head-turning shot from Whitenight that nobody could prepare for.
				&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re down, you&rsquo;re just trying to keep in the game and claw back,&rdquo; Whitenight said.
				Nanticoke Area briefly reclaimed a lead, 31-30, on Cullen&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer of the game with 3:06 to go, but that didn&rsquo;t do much to block Berwick&rsquo;s wave of momentum.
				Morgan Nevel tied it up with a free throw. Starr battled for a rebound and layup to put Berwick ahead for good with 2:27 on the clock, then added two free throws down the stretch to finish with 11 points and 13 rebounds. And Emily Ouimet dropped four foul shots in the final 1:01 to complete her 10-point night.
				&ldquo;The determination of our kids,&rdquo; Phillips said was the biggest difference between the first three quarters and the last. &ldquo;Each time out, our kids, you could see it in their faces. The locker room at halftime was unbelievable.
				&ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t want to go home.&rdquo;
				Instead, the 16-9 Bulldogs are going to states, a trip that was sealed &mdash; quite fittingly &mdash; when Whitenight nailed a free throw to set the final score 12 seconds from the final buzzer.
				&ldquo;A little bit of nerves, because it&rsquo;s an important situation,&rdquo; Whitenight said. &ldquo;I just tried to keep my composure. Thankfully, it worked out for me.
				&ldquo;Amazing.&rdquo;
				District 2 Class 4A 3rd Place Game
				Berwick 40, Nanticoke Area 36
				NANTICOKE AREA (36) &mdash; Abby Cullen 5 0-0 14, Brooklyn Biehl 0 1-2 1, Jen Kurkoski 0 0-0 0, Emily Hauer 3 3-5 11, Lauren Casey 5 0-0 10, Genevieve Nalepa 0 0-0 0, Jaidyn Kotch 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 4-7 36.
				BERWICK (40) &mdash; Renny Murphy 1 2-2 5, Morgan Nevel 2 1-3 5, Sarah Steeber 0 0-0 0, Katie Starr 4 3-8 11, Emily Ouimet 3 4-6 10, Abby Burt 1 0-0 3, Rachel Whitenight 2 1-2 6, Jackie Nevel 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 11-21 40.
				Nanticoke Area`12`7`8`9 &mdash; 36
				Berwick`4`14`5`17 &mdash; 40
				Three-point goals &mdash; NAN 6 (Cullen 4, Hauer 2); BER 3 (Murphy, Burt, Whitenight).

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Berwick rallies past Nanticoke Area for girls basketball state berth