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PIAA Class 3A: Stevens caps comeback as Imhotep girls advance

03/12/2022, 12:30am EST
By Missy Dougherty

Missy Dougherty (@Missyingyou)

COATESVILLE -- Scoreless through the first three quarters of Friday night’s second-round 3A girls basketball contest against Trinity High School at Coatesville, Imhotep Charter junior Samya Stevens remained locked in on trying to be there for her squad.

“I didn’t want to mess up the future by worrying about the past,” said Stevens. “I wanted to stay ready for a moment to help my team.”

Steven’s in-game wisdom proved prophetic as her moment did indeed come, and she delivered, to help Imhotep complete a stirring comeback that saw it score 18 of the last 26 points of the game.

Fouled with 10.2 seconds left on the clock, with her team trailing by one, Stevens nailed both free throws to lift Imhotep past District 3 champion Trinity, 46-45, and into a spot in the state quarterfinals next Tuesday.

After calmly draining the first to tie the game, Trinity head coach Kristi Britten called a time out to let Stevens think about the second one. Yet, Stevens’ thoughts never strayed from the task at hand.


(L to R) Janai Smith, Samya Stevens and Mikala Rambert-Carter all played huge parts in Imhotep's win on Friday at Coatesville. (Photo: Missy Dougherty/CoBL)

“I just had to tune out all the noise,” Stevens continued. “My teammates were all encouraging me, and I couldn’t let my team down as I play for my teammates, and not myself.”

Playing together, and for the team, was a recurring theme from the Imhotep sideline as it navigated the highs and lows of the game.

The Lady Panthers jumped out to a 14-7 advantage with 2:10 left on the first-quarter clock when junior Taniyah Finney scored on a breakaway, after a steal by senior Janai Smith.

Not wanting the game to get away early, Trinity called a timeout and switched to a zone realizing it couldn’t match Imhotep’s athleticism in man-to-man.

The defensive switch caused headaches for the Lady Panthers as Trinity (19-8) tallied 17 of the last 19 points of the half.

Smith’s steal and subsequent layup with 2:15 remaining until the break ended an Imhotep scoring drought that lasted eight minutes.

Facing a 24-16 deficit at the half, Imhotep (15-10) regrouped, and refocused, and vowed that there was still a lot of game to be played.

“We refocused on our game plan,” Imhotep head coach David Hargrove said, when asked about the theme of the conversation at intermission. “We emphasized that we needed more extra-effort plays and we needed to trust each other.”

Senior Mikala Rambert-Carter, a 6-4 center who spent the night disrupting Trinity’s shots in the paint, reiterated the thoughts of her coach. “We just reminded each other that we had to stay together,” Rambert-Carter said. “We agreed we weren’t losing this.”

The Lady Shamrocks continued to surge in the opening minutes of the second half as they moved out to a 31-21 lead but little-by-little those extra-effort plays that Hargrove was looking for became plentiful and their impact was felt on the scoreboard.

Asked for the keys of the comeback that saw Imhotep, the No. 2 seed from District 12, outscore Trinity 16-7 in the fourth quarter, Hargrove had a lengthy list of those who made contributions to the rally.

“Janai picked up her defensive intensity and everyone else fed off of that,” Hargrove said. “Look at the hustle play Taniyah Finney made to slide on the floor to get a loose ball. And Mikala Rambert-Carter became more active, too.”

The aforementioned hustle play by Finney in the third seemed to give the Lady Panthers life even though the scoreboard still showed a 10-point deficit.

“I felt like the ball was there and I just had to go for it,” said Finney.

The Lady Panthers followed her lead as they went for it in the fourth.  They turned up the defense and held Trinity to just seven points over the final eight minutes – all from the foul line.

Smith, a third-team all-state selection last season, also came alive after intermission scoring 11 of her team-high 17 points over the final two quarters.

“I was frustrated after the first half, but I needed to stay locked in,” Smith said. “I had to keep my energy up for the good of the team.

“We all told each other there was another half to play. Taniyah and I reminded everyone to stay positive because we got this.”

Smith was a freshman in 2019 when Imhotep and Trinity last battled in the state playoffs. The quarterfinal matchup that year saw Imhotep leading late, before Trinity came from behind to advance to the semifinals.

The script reversed in this year's meeting between the two clubs.

“Coach talked about them beating us when I was a freshman,” Smith said. “He said this was our chance at revenge.”

State tournament participants for the 10th time in the last 11 years, the Lady Panthers are enjoying the chance to continue the journey.

“We are grateful we get the opportunity to practice tomorrow,” Hargrove said as Imhotep now turns its attention to District 2 champion Riverside, who dispatched District 11 champion Palmerton, 64-28, on Friday.

By Quarter
Trinity :   12  | 12 |  14  |    7   ||  45
Imhotep: 14  |  2  |  14  |  16   ||  46

Scorers
Trinity: Natalie Freed 17, Mandy Roman 8, Adrianna Stricek 5, Alina Torchia 5, Elaina Beckett 4, Sammi McAuliffe 4, Ashley Kieff 2

Imhotep: Janai Smith 17, Taniyah Finney 11, Samya Stevens 8, Ky’Janae Cooper 3, Mikala Rambert-Carter 2


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