By Mike Buchanan

 

Rachel Schulder’s shot from the corner swished through the net with one second remaining on the clock.

 

But her team needed three points to tie and force overtime, and Schulder’s foot was over the arc line, leaving her team one point short, as Catholic (4-5, 3-2) defeated Beth Tfiloh, 50-49, Thursday in Pikesville.

 

The game featured numerous lead changes, momentum shifts and a wild finish that came within inches of going to overtime.

 

The host Warriors jumped out quickly, as senior All-Conference guard Arielle Vogelstein hit a pair of lay-ups, sandwiched around a Schulder jumper to give BT an early 6-0 lead. Those two would go on to carry the bulk of the Beth Tfiloh scoring, combining for 35 points.

 

It took Catholic a few minutes to get warmed up and into the flow, as sophomore Meg Skyrnecki broke the ice for Catholic with a jumper four minutes in and then a put-back at 2:40 to bring her team to within two.

 

Vogelstein got free on the weak-side of a perfectly executed in-bounds play to score and then Schulder scored inside to make it a 12-6 lead at the end of the quarter.

 

Senior guard Kieona Wallace hit a long three at 4:40 of second period to bring Cubs back to within one, 14-13, but the hosts went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to re-gain control.

 

Schulder got a basket and a free throw, a teammate got a lay-up off of a steal, and then Vogelstein and Schulder got back-to-back scores to give Coach Sonya Howell’s team a 23-13 lead.

 

But this would be a game of shifts, and Catholic went on a run of its own.

 

Consecutive threes by Wallace and Lindsay Torbeck brought Catholic back to within three, at 24-21, and Beth Tfiloh concluded the first-half scoring with a put-back with 12 seconds left to make it 26-21 game.

 

The second half brought even more twists and turns.

 

Early in the third quarter, Catholic’s Adrienne Williams rebounded a missed free throw and scored to tie game at 28-28. The two teams then traded baskets in a three-minute flurry – 30-30, 32-32, 34-34. Skyrnecki scored with two seconds left in the quarter to give Catholic another short-lived lead at 36-34.

 

The final period was more of the same, leading up to a wild finish.

 

After Schulder converted two free throws to tie the game at 38-38, BT scored again for what would be its final lead.

 

Catholic tied and then re-gained the lead on a Skyrecki lay-up. The Cubs finally got the margin over two, as Skyrnecki scored inside on a text-book up-and-under move, finishing with her left hand for a 44-40 lead.

 

Williams scored at the 3:00 mark to push the lead to six, 46-40, and it looked like the Cubs might put it away, but neither team was going down without a fight in this see-saw affair.

 

Schulder scored at 1:40 to make it 46-42. Catholic committed a costly turnover and then a more costly foul, as Schulder went to the line and calmly hit both ends of a one-and-one to make it 46-44.

 

Catholic missed a lay-up, and Vogelstein rebounded, raced down-court and canned a jumper from straight on to tie the game – again.

 

Kaitkyn Radych got an offensive rebound and converted the put-back as the Cubs re-gained the lead for the umpteenth time, but she missed a chance for a three-point play by missing the free throw.

 

Howell called time-out with 34 seconds left, and her team proceeded to get three good shots but could not score.  Catholic got the rebound and Skyrnecki was fouled with 16 ticks on the clock.

 

With inside position, Vogelstein pulled down the rebound of the missed free throw, and was fouled in the process by Radych. Vogelstein hit the first free throw to make it a one-point game, but just missed the second.

 

Torbeck got the rebound and was fouled with 8.7 seconds left. The freshman shook off any jitters and hit both free throws to give the Cubs a 50-47 lead.

 

Lead safe?  Not in this game, as Beth Tfiloh still had one last chance.

 

The Warriors raced the ball upcourt and found Schulder open in the left corner. The lefty’s high-arcing shot found nothing but net, with just one second left. But in haste to get down court and spot up for a shot, the reliable senior was not able to get her feet set behind the arc, resulting in two points instead of the needed three.

 

Had the game gone overtime, these two teams might still be trading points. But time expired and Coach Sandy Rectenwald and team were happy to get on the bus with a win.

 

A big key to the win was rebounding, where the Cubs pulled down 40 for the game, including 16 offensive, many of which led to second-chance points off of put-backs.

 

Skyrnecki led the way in scoring with 18 points, and added eight boards. She was very effective in the post, going nine for 15 from the field on an assortment of moves, including that perfect up-and-under move in the final quarter.

 

Williams added 10 points to go with 14 rebounds. Torbeck added eight points, along with nine rebounds from her guard spot.

 

Rectenwald was very pleased with the balanced production. “Everybody stepped up and contributed. Adrienne (Williams) amd Meg (Skyrnecki) both had their third season double-double, and every point and rebound was needed in a one-point game. And Lindsay (Torbeck) came up with eight defensive rebounds, as a guard!”

 

For Beth Tfiloh (2-3, 1-2), Schulder and Vogelstein were a productive combo, scoring most of the Warrior points. Schulder led all scorers with 20 points, and Vogelstein added 15.

 

After the drama that four quarters provided, overtime could have been very interesting. But in the end, the Warriors just came up inches short.

 

Catholic 50, Beth Tfiloh 49

C – Torbeck 9, Williams 10, Skyrnecki 18, Radych 7, Wallace 6. Totals 22 3-12 50.

BT – Schulder 20, Vogelstein 15, Harris 6, Gersteinblith 4, LeBua 4. Totals 19 7-12 49.

Half: BT, 26-21.