Girls basketball: Camryn Driscoll comes up right in wrong spot for Princeton

MANLIUS – Sometimes it pays to be wrong.

Camryn Driscoll went to the wrong spot, but hit the right shot, a 3-pointer from the right corner with two seconds left, sending Princeton home with a 54-52 win Thursday at the Storm Cellar over rival Bureau Valley.

The funny thing is, Driscoll, a Princeton sophomore, went to the wrong spot that was drawn up on the inbounds play from halfcourt. She was supposed to go toward the top, Princeton coach Tiffany Gonigam said, but went to the right corner.

“Yeah, I messed up,” Driscoll said. “I forgot to cut to the back at first. I was like, ‘Oh, wait.’”

“On the last shot, we were nowhere ready to go, but she made it work. Just glad we were ready to knock it down,” Gonigam said.

With the win, the Tigresses improved to 19-8 overall and 9-1 in the Three Rivers East to repeat as division champions.

Driscoll led all scorers with 24 points, including a 5-of-12 shooting behind the arc. Juniors Paige Jesse (9) and Olivia Mattingly (8) combined for 17 points and 4-of-9 shooting on 3s.

“I’ve been in a little bit of a slump lately, so it’s nice to hit some 3s,” Driscoll said.

“To be honest with you, she’s been cold the last two games, maybe 1 for 7 each game,” Gonigam said. “I knew it was time. I didn’t care if it was tonight or regionals, but I knew we would be back on that upswing. And wow. She was phenomenal, and I was glad it was tonight.”

It was only fitting the last Princeton and Bureau Valley girls basketball game for the foreseeable future went down to the last shot. With the Storm departing the Three Rivers Conference for the Lincoln Trail next year, the longtime rivals are not scheduled to meet in regular-season play at this time.

There were six lead changes in the fourth quarter alone with no lead bigger than five points.

The Storm (14-15) battled back from a 46-41 deficit to take a 47-46 lead with two free throws by Taylor Neuhalfen, a steal and layup by Libby Endress and a jumper from Kate Salisbury, BV’s newest 1,000-point scorer.

Mattingly put the Tigresses back on top with a pair of free throws at 48-47, only to have Neuhalfen sink a jumper for a 49-48 lead with 1:39 to play.

It was Mattingly who answered again for PHS with a 3-point play on a scoring drive and free throw to put the Tigresses back on top at 51-49 with 34.1 seconds left.

BV senior Kate Stoller momentarily was the hero of the night for the Storm, hitting a 3-pointer for 52-51 lead with 14.5 remaining.

But Driscoll stole the moment, sinking her game-winner to send the Tigresses skipping back home to Princeton.

“We were all so excited. I was really hoping we could win this game, because it was our last regular-season game,” she said.

BV coach Matt Wasilewski said it was a tough way to lose.

“We let the best player of Princeton make the last shot. We lost her. We can’t do that. She was playing an outstanding game, and we lost her,” he said. “But we busted our butts, played as hard as we have all year. Can’t fault the effort. The outcome happens sometimes.

“I told the ladies, this is going to hurt and I understand that. But the effort was there and that’s what we’re going to need come Saturday [for regionals] and hopefully further on.”

Neuhalfen led the Storm with 18 points. Stoller added eight.

Driscoll hit a 3-pointer to give the Tigresses a 19-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Storm (14-15) outscored the Tigresses 15-11 in the second quarter to take a 33-30 lead at halftime.

Jesse hit a pair of 3s to spark a 13-6 PHS advantage in the third quarter to give the Tigresses a 43-37 edge at quarter’s end.

Thursday night was the teams’ 50th meeting, with the Storm holding a series edge of 26-24. It held special meaning for Gonigam, who is a BV alum and former coach, with the two rivals not scheduled to meet again any time soon.

“I tried not to think about it too much, because I like playing Bureau Valley. I think it’s a good community rivalry,” she said. “For me, it was more about being able to say we beat every team in the conference. I know it meant a lot to the kids though. Bureau Valley is a rivalry game. They know a lot of these kids. They’re friends with these kids. It was a fun game and a fun atmosphere. The game was a blast.”

The Tigresses and the Storm turn to their attention to the postseason. The Storm will host a regional quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Saturday against No. 8 Rock Falls (10-21), while the No. 4-seeded Tigresses await the winner between No. 11 Oregon (7-23) and No. 5 Erie-Prophetstown (12-13) in Tuesday’s semifinals.

“We’re ready and want to go farther than we did last year,” Driscoll said, noting Princeton’s regional final loss last year to Monmouth-Roseville at BV.

Notes: PHS also won the freshmen/sophomore game 37-27. Josie Sierens had 12 points and Danika Burden 11 for PHS, which finished 12-12 and 6-2 in conference for second place. For BV, Emma Musche had 7 and Abby Jamison 6.