Peters Township girls rally past Upper Dublin in overtime to reach PIAA title game

By: Tom Brolley
Monday, March 18, 2019 | 10:11 PM

WINGATE — Peters Township’s Jordan Bisignani didn’t have much time to process the moment when she heaved a desperation half-court shot at the buzzer of a PIAA Class 6A semifinal.

She sent shock throughout the Bald Eagle Area gym when her shot crashed off the backboard and rattled in, which seemingly broke a tie with the defending state champions, Upper Dublin.

The only problem was her coach Bert Kendall had called a timeout with 1.5 seconds left after the Indians gained possession of a loose ball after a defensive stop.

“Me and my teammates started saying he didn’t call the timeout, but he did,” Bisignani joked. “(The shot) felt so good.”

The Indians waited only 4 minutes in game time and about 15 minutes in real time to start another celebration, this time after they officially completed their 51-46 overtime victory to send Peters Township to its first PIAA championship game.

Kendall had a timeout to spare at the end of regulation, and he called for the stoppage to try to set up one last play just before Bisignani’s shot left her hand with about 0.1 seconds left.

“I’m glad we were able to overcome in overtime because that would’ve been something I would’ve had to live with for a while,” Kendall cracked.

The Indians (29-0) advance to the PIAA final against Garnet Valley (29-1) at 6 p.m. Friday at the Giant Center in Hershey. Garnet Valley defeated Neshaminy, 51-48, in the other Class 6A semifinal Monday night.

The Indians held an 11-9 lead at the of the first quarter, but they trailed for the vast majority of the next 24 minutes until Makenna Marisa gave them the lead for good in the first 20 seconds of overtime.

Marisa, mired in a 2 for 20 shooting slump in regulation, still found a way to lead the Indians to a victory in the final six minutes of game action. She erased a 37-32 deficit by connecting on six consecutive free throws in the final 93 seconds of regulation.

Freshman Journey Thompson sent the game to overtime at 39-39 by making the back end of a pair of free throws with 9 seconds left before the mad scramble at the end of regulation.

The defining play of the game came when Marisa drew the fifth and final foul for Upper Dublin’s standout Jackie Vargas with 59 seconds remaining in regulation. Vargas’ early departure proved pivotal in overtime with the Indians finally able to score in the paint without the 6-foot-3 center in the game.

“(Vargas) does a great job going straight up, and that time she didn’t get the call in her favor,” Upper Dublin coach Morgan Funsten said. “But give them credit, they made some big-time shots there, especially in overtime.”

The Indians haven’t been in too many difficult spots this season with their perfect record, but they’ve now won twice in overtime in their last five games. They previously defeated North Allegheny in extra time for the WPIAL championship.

Bisignani said the team was quiet on the nearly three-hour bus trip to Centre County for the PIAA semifinal contest, but she said it was going to be a raucous ride back after the party that erupted in the locker room after the game.

The Indians will have three days to get the celebrating out of their system as they hope to complete a dream, 30-0 undefeated season.

“I couldn’t be happier for the girls. They’ve worked so hard, and they’re such a great group,” Kendall said. “They are gamers. That game is on the line, and I knew they were going to come through.”

Tags: Peters Township