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Canton girls win thriller and reach states for first time since 2002

By Chris Masse 6 min read

Kendall Kitchen dribbled out the game’s final second, ditched the basketball and jumped skyward as teammate Alexis McRoberts caught her and the two hugged. Simultaneously, happy Canton teammates flooded the court, and all started literally jumping for joy as loyal fans cheered from the bleachers.

A few moments later, all the Canton players sang the alma mater along with their fellow classmates, many who helped make Loyalsock feel like a home game Wednesday night.

As the years go by, the players might forget the plays that transpired during Wednesday’s thrilling, hard-fought District 4 Class AA third place game. They will never forget those celebratory moments when they basked in the glow of achieving something so rare.

Cailyn Van Noy scored 14 points, Kitchen totaled 12 with five steals and every Warrior did her part as Canton turned a six-point second quarter deficit into a 38-35 win over Mid-Penn champion Northwest. The Warriors (17-9) secured the program’s first state tournament berth since 2002, doing so a year after winning nine games. The 17 wins also are the most by a Canton team in the 2000s.

"It was just crazy. We’re all best friends, so it’s an incredible feeling to do it with my best friends," Kitchen, the team’s lone senior, said. "It’s just a rush that we all get. I think you can see it in all our faces. They just light up and get a sense of excitement that we’ve never experienced before."

Few Canton teams have. The Warriors put an exclamation on a fabulous turnaround season Wednesday while earning a spot in the state tournament’s first round against the District 2 champion, either Elk Lake or Mountain View.

No current player was close to being born the last time Canton reached states. And even that team did not do what this one has, winning two district playoff games in the same season. The Warriors were underdogs both times against Southern Columbia and Northwest (20-6) but are still standing and raising the program’s bar while doing so.

"We’ve come out against those big teams, and we say, ‘Let’s just win,’" Van Noy said after scoring four straight points and breaking a 30-30 fourth quarter tie. "This is the first time Canton has done this in a long time, so it’s pretty exciting."

"I don’t even think I’ve been able to process it yet. I went in there and addressed the team and I looked like an idiot because I had no idea what to say," Canton coach Ryan Van Noy said. "For the first time in 23 years, to get us back to this point is super, super special."

Canton winning the way it did makes it even more so. The Warriors trailed 17-11 late in the first half but Kitchen scored seven straight points in the final two minutes and Canton built a two-point halftime lead. The Warriors never led by more than five points in the second half but also never cracked when Northwest threatened.

That included after the Rangers tied it 30-30. As was the case against Southern in a tight quarterfinal, Canton excelled under pressure and Van Noy (5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists) hit a go-ahead, running bank shot. Seconds later, she stole a pass, was fouled and hit two free throws, making it, 34-30. Lydia Roupp added two more clutch free throws as Canton went ahead by six.

"It’s awesome. I can’t even explain it," Van Noy said. "I know my team counts on me in those moments and I just need to focus and help them out."

Northwest, though, kept coming back and Natalia Ninotti’s 3-pointer pulled it within 36-35 in the final minute. From there, Canton methodically moved the ball and ran 30 seconds off the clock before Van Noy was fouled and sent to the line. Again, she owned the big moment, sinking both free throws and giving Canton a 38-35 advantage.

"I just tell myself, ‘It’s just another shot,’" Van Noy said. "There’s no pressure. It’s like the beginning of the game."

Canton played ferocious defense throughout the game and made an outstanding stand to seal victory. The Rangers looked for a 3-pointer, but Canton protected the arc before they called timeout with six seconds left. Northwest put up a 3-point attempt, but it was fiercely contested and fell well short with 0.6 seconds remaining. Van Noy then fired a long pass to Kitchen who caught it in stride and a party 23 years in the making was on.

"Something about us is we’re all able to trust each other. We never took ourselves out of the game mentally," Kitchen said. "Everyone can feel a sense of contribution to the game, whether they were one of the managers, or played all four quarters. We just all feel it the same."

That included Roupp who scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds as well as McRoberts who added six boards. Danah Wesneski helped stop the bleeding when Northwest threatened to build a bigger lead in the first half and Stella Rockwell provided super defense, especially in the fourth quarter.

Most impressive, Canton never let the opponent, the atmosphere or the situation rattle it. The first quarter featured six lead changes before Northwest heated up in the second. But Canton stood firm, allowing just one point in the half’s final four minutes while Kitchen heated up and drilled a 3-pointer as well as four straight foul shots.

"We didn’t panic. That’s what I was very impressed with," Ryan Van Noy said. "We took care of the ball for the most part pretty well late. It was a good ending to the basketball game. We did a lot of right things at the end that won us the game."

Kitchen kept the momentum Canton built late in the second quarter going into the third, giving it its biggest lead with a quick 3-pointer which made it, 23-18. A Van Noy 3-pointer pushed the lead to 28-24 after Northwest clawed within one and a Kitchen drive made it 30-26 as Canton kept responding whether it could hear its coaching staff shouting instructions or not. Call it another fun memory for a team making a lot of them this season.

"None of my players know what offense we’re running because they can’t hear me call anything," Ryan Van Noy said. "My voice is gone, and I have such a pounding headache, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It was fantastic."

NORTHWEST (35)

Ashlyn Hermanofski 1 9-12 12, Ava Ruckle 0 2-4 2, Jordin Bowman 2 1-1 5, Natalia Ninotti 3 0-0 8, Arheya Williams 1 0-0 2, Ali Miner 3 0-0 6. Totals 10 12-17 35.

CANTON (38)

Kendall Kitchen 3 4-4 12, Cailyn Van Noy 4 4-4 14, Lydia Roupp 2 2-2 7, Danah Wesneski 0 1-4 1, Alexis McRoberts 2 0-0 4, Stella Rockwell 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 11-14 38.

Northwest 9 9 8 9―35

Canton 7 13 8 10―38

3-pointers: Northwest 3 (Ninotti 2, Hermanofski); Canton 5 (Kitchen 2, Van Noy 2, Roupp).

Records: Canton 17-9. Northwest 20-6.

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