CUMBERLAND — Fort Hill deployed a box-and-1 to slow Mountain Ridge standout Kealana Pua’auli, and the Miners found the answer.
Mountain Ridge used Pua’auli as a facilitator at the high post, kicking it out wide to Taylor Lamberson when defenders crashed or down low to Carolyn Hughes and Allison Tringler. The quartet combined for 56 points.
Fort Hill made it a game late, but Pua’auli and Lamberson were perfect at the foul line down the stretch, allowing fifth-seeded Mountain Ridge to topple the fourth-seeded Sentinels, 64-55, in the Class 1A West Region I quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon.
“We had a good week of practice and were able to fix a few things,” Mountain Ridge head coach Donny Carter said. “Got a lot of girls involved in the game tonight. They all contributed. We were able to really move the ball well.”
Mountain Ridge improved to 11-12 with its third victory of the campaign over Fort Hill (10-12). The Miners head to top-seeded Southern (17-5) on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Lamberson led the Miners with 20 points — half of which came in the third quarter — made four 3-pointers and garnered five steals, Pua’auli tallied 15 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals, Hughes added 11 points, and Tringler chipped in 10.
Fort Hill’s Aubry Spangler finished with a game-high 21 points, scoring 18 in the middle quarters, and Caniyah Plummer had 17 points before fouling out in the fourth.
Mountain Ridge jumped out to a 15-3 lead after the first quarter, part of a 17-3 run to open the proceedings.
Fort Hill cut its deficit to 26-24 with a 10-0 run in the second. Trailing 28-24 at the half, the Sentinels got within 28-27 early in the third period.
“Our girls fought as hard as they possibly could to come back,” Fort Hill head coach Mike Allen said. “The slow start is not what we wanted. We wanted to be able to at least get out to an even start or be two points down at the end of one.
“It’s hard to overcome, but our girls did everything in their powers to try to do that. … You can’t dig yourself a hole like that against a good team.”
Mountain Ridge got out in transition using its full-court press and 1-3-1 zone defense, with Pua’auli disrupting passing lanes at the top. The Miners finished with 17 steals.
Fort Hill’s box-and-1 did well to limit Pua’auli’s production in the half court, but the Miners eventually found a soft spot at the heart of the defense. Lamberson got open consistently in the corner to allow the Miners to regain their lead in the third period.
Lamberson’s 10 points in the third helped Mountain Ridge take a 48-40 lead into the fourth.
“We kept telling our girls, ‘We’re going to get to the high post, they’re going to crash on you. Somebody on the opposite side is going to be wide open,'” Carter said.
Fort Hill clawed to within 55-50 with 3:45 to play, and after a Mountain Ridge run, Spangler’s trey lowered the Miners’ lead to 60-54 with 1:21 left.
Pua’auli and Lamberson both had 2 for 2 trips in the final 30 seconds to ice the game.
Saturday marked the final games of four Fort Hill seniors’ careers in Spangler, Fultz, Jaden Emerson and Victoria Pawliske.
Spangler saw the Sentinels’ highs and lows during her four-year career, and it ended with a home playoff game.
“Aubry Spangler was with me when we went 2-19, and it was a very, very dim time in Fort Hill girls basketball,” Allen said. “She’s the reason we’re where we’re at. When we get two (Western Maryland Athletic Conference) wins and we’re competing against a team (Mountain Ridge) one or two years ago that we couldn’t even stay on the floor with.
“She kind of turned this program around, and it’s hard to lose her.”
Mountain Ridge advances to a road matchup at Southern, and it’s a familiar stage for the Miners.
Last year, Mountain Ridge gave Southern its toughest postseason game until the Rams’ state championship game loss.
The Miners fell to the Rams, 53-42, in the region semis, a contest that was tied at 42 before a late Southern run.
“We’re gonna work hard here in the next day or two,” Carter said. “We’re going to try to get things squared away on Monday. Hopefully we’re ready for them.”