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Bobak’s clutch plays help Hughesville win thriller at Montoursville

By Chris Masse 7 min read

Breanna Bobak may only be a sophomore but she started a year ago and, on a team featuring just one senior, that qualifies her as a veteran leader.

In a chaotic, back and forth game Monday at Montoursville, Bobak did exactly what Hughesville wants. She led. And she helped lead them to a thrilling win.

Bobak drained three overtime free throws, found Sara Stroup for a basket in the final 30 seconds and threw another alert pass which burned the final three seconds off the clock as Hughesville edged host Montoursville, 41-40 in another battle played between these rivals. Freshman Anstadt scored 15 points and pulled down 19 rebounds; every Spartan did her part and Hughesville won the second straight overtime contest these two have played, avenging last year’s double overtime defeat at Montoursville.

“I really just want to help the team step up and help lead them to win and give them the confidence to play well, too,” Bobak said.

She is doing a good job, embracing that role. The only returning starter from last year’s team, Bobak is the squad’s most experienced player despite her youth. Two freshmen are starting, point guard Hailey Poust missed all of last season with an injury, so Bobak’s experience provides a valuable asset.

Montoursville (2-4) held Boback (7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) in check most of the game, but the sophomore guard delivered at the most crucial times late. First, she did so at the foul line, making three free throws during a 19-second span. Those shots broke ties.

Hughesville (4-2) struggled at the line and made just 9 of 25 shots, but Bobak calmly drained both free throws after being fouled with 61 seconds remaining while putting Hughesville ahead, 38-36. After Montoursville tied it, Boback went to the line and made another free throw, giving it a 39-38 advantage.

“It’s just pretending like it’s a practice. You have to take your time and act like no one else is in the gym. It’s just you, shooting foul shots constantly,” Bobak said. “I think it’s just basketball; it’s not the whole world counting on it. It’s a game, so you’ve got it.”

Bobak made the shots and displayed the intelligence under pressure. After blocking a shot, Boback broke out of a pile, saw Stroup cutting toward the basket and found her for a vital basket which made it 41-38. Again, Montoursville did not flinch and Maddie Adams answered with a gutsy runner in the paint, cutting it to 41-40. Only seven seconds remained and Montoursville desperately tried fouling.

Bobak never gave the Warriors that chance. She again avoided defenders and threw a near half-court pass to Stroup which took the final few seconds off the clock as Hughesville pulled out its fourth win in five games.

It was another fiercely fought game in a series defined by them. Hughesville erased a seven-point second-quarter deficit and led by as many as eight in the third quarter before Montoursville rallied and tied it with four seconds remaining in regulation when Adams found Sydnie Stone for a layup. The last three games in this rivalry have been decided by 12 combined points, but the Spartans again came up big in a tight game, improving to 4-0 in contests determined by five points or fewer.

“We’ve used the term, ‘by hook or by crook,’ a couple times this year and that was the definition of, ‘by hook or by crook,'” Hughesville coach Ryan Callahan said. “It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t clean, it wasn’t well-played, but the bottom line is we escaped with a win. There’s no style points. There’s no football committee getting together saying this or that. It’s just the record at the end; that’s all that matters and these girls competed so hard.”

So did Montoursville.

A week after erasing an eight-point deficit and winning a nailbiter at Jersey Shore, Montoursville nearly did it again. Adams scored 11 of her 15 points in the game’s final 12 minutes and Stone built off the late fourth-quarter momentum by hitting two free throws and giving Montoursville a 36-34 lead. Poust, however, answered with a jumper near the foul line, tying the game and Montoursville never led again.

“I knew the fight was here, but sometimes it’s like they have to be in these situations for that fight to come out. I said to them in the locker room that fight has to start from that time that ball is thrown up,” Montoursville coach Sean Walker said. “We have to carry that through the whole game. We can’t have highs and lows and feel like we want to fight here and there. W e have to be more consistent with that effort. It’s effort and energy, that’s all it is. If we give that back in return we’re going to be right in a lot of these games.”

Montoursville started strong, limiting Hughesville to three first-quarter points and building a 14-7 lead less than three minutes into the second quarter. Anstadt and Lucy Myers, though, started changing the game’s complexion. Anstadt scored five straight points at one time and Myers the quarter’s final six as Hughesville built a 20-14 halftime lead. The Spartans extended that lead to eight early in the third quarter and held Montoursville to two points over a 10-minute span while turning that deficit into a lead.

Anstadt produced a double-double by late in the third quarter and was a game-changer defensively, blocking five shots. She was all over the boards and had plenty of help from her hustling teammates, including Myers who had six boards off the bench. Ava Snyder pulled down five rebounds, Stroup hit two huge second-half shots and Poust and hard-working Grace Pysher fueled the swarming defense.

Hughesville is young, but it is making steady progress each game. They climbed another rung Monday night.

“We wanted to win that. We worked too hard not win that game,” Bobak said. “(Going into overtime) we couldn’t let them score. We had to lock down on defense and be strong with the ball and relax on offense and let it happen.”

“Any one of them can lead us in scoring any night and they all have,” Callahan said. “It’s just learning, especially in a game like this where it’s so hectic and haywire. We can take advantage of that. It’s a really fun group to be around.”

Montoursville started having fun as it clawed back late in the third quarter, pulling within four on Maddie Labatch’s late basket and then tying the game in the fourth-quarter’s closing seconds. Shyanne Klemick played a massive role in that comeback, making 10 steals and helping Montoursville allow just two fourth-quarter field goals. She also hustled after loose balls, pulled down some critical rebounds and her steal and layup closed the deficit to 32-31 with 1:48 remaining in regulation.

Bobak and Anstadt made free throws, making it 34-31 before Stone (11 points) answered with a foul shot at the 32-second mark. Montoursville had one last chance with 11 seconds left and cashed in. Adams (15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks) rebounded a missed free throw, avoided two defenders as she dribbled past midcourt and found Stone cutting in from the right wing. Stone caught the pass in stride, dribbled in and made the layup over a converging defender with four seconds remaining. A desperation Hughesville 3-pointer was off the mark and the game went to overtime.

“Like I told them, it stings, but if we come out like we did out of the gate and take control of the game at our tempo we wouldn’t have to worry about playing from behind or going to overtime,” Walker said. “I give the girls a number–10 and 10. Ten points, 10 steals, 10 rebounds, 10 assists … those 10s can go any way. If you give me that every game we’re right in these games with these teams and we’re battling.”

HUGHESVILLE (41)

Alli Anstadt 6 3-7 15, Breanna Bobak 1 5-8 7, Ava Snyder 3 1-5 7, Hailey Poust 1 0-0 2, Grace Pysher 0 0-2 0, Lucy Myers 3 0-2 6, Sara Stroup 2 0-1 4. Totals 16 9-25 41.

MONTOURSVILLE (40)

Maddie Adams 7 0-1 15, Maddie Labatch 2 0-0 4, Alaina Marchioni 2 0-0 4, Sydnie Stone 4 3-4 11, Shyanne Klemick 1 0-2 2, Nyla Kutney 2 0-2 4, Kristen George 0 0-0 0, Ashlyn Loe 0 0-0 0, Maya Nieman 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 3-9 40.

Hughesville 3 17 6 8 7-41

Montoursville 8 6 8 12 6-40

3-pointers: Montoursville 1 (Adams).

Records: Hughesville 4-2. Montoursville 2-4.

JV Score: Hughesville 29-22.

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