Prolific duo propels Shade girls into semifinals with triumph over Rockwood

Mar. 6—CAIRNBROOK — Jenna Muha posted a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds, Taylor Rapsky added 19 points and five assists and Shade overcame an early 13-point deficit to knock off Rockwood 49-44 in the first round of the District 5 Class 1A playoffs on Friday night.

The Panthers will play No. 1 seed Shanksville-Stonycreek for the third time this season in the semifinals on Tuesday.

"We've had some slow starts recently," said first-year Shade coach Mark Satkovich after picking up the first playoff win of his tenure. "Once we get going, it flows pretty good for us. Defense is really the key for us. We have to play good defense in order to stay in games, and that's what we did tonight."

Shade led 37-36 after three quarters and hung on down the stretch despite getting outshot 12-5 in the fourth.

The Panthers held the Rockets down twice in the final 36 seconds to survive. The first time, Rockwood's Lindsay Beeman drove the lane for a layup, but could not get it to go and it bounced off the rim to Muha, who secured the rebound.

Later, with less than 10 seconds to play and up by three, Rapsky raced down the floor and stripped Rockwood's Mollie Wheatley.

The Panthers' lone senior was immediately fouled with 8.5 seconds left, and she went to the line and knocked down both free throws to seal the victory.

"Taylor gives me 100% whether it's practice or a game," said Satkovich about Rapsky's late game effort. "She is determined to give you everything she has. She is a senior who stepped up for a senior moment."

Rockwood stumbled into foul trouble early on in the third quarter. The Rockets shot just two free throws, while Shade shot 21, including 16 in the second half.

Senior guard Maggie Hay fouled out in the last 30 seconds. Rockets coach Bob Hay said there was no doubt that it played a factor in the outcome.

"It's hard to overcome 17-5 in team fouls and that big free-throw differential in a game," Bob Hay said. "These ladies worked so hard and to watch them have the game stolen from them isn't fair to them."

After going down 5-4 early, the Rockets went on a 14-0 run that gave them an 18-5 lead.

That was in large part because of Kaitlyn Pletcher, who scored eight of her team-high 14 points in the first quarter. Pletcher drilled four triples in total.

Mollie Wheatley had 12 points, and senior Allison Johnson added 10 points.

The Rockets shot 6 of 11 from the field in the first quarter, and finished 11 of 20 in the first half.

Shade responded to the early Rockwood spurt with a 10-0 run of its own to cut the deficit to three, 18-15, midway through the second quarter.

Muha scored 11 of her 22 points in the second frame, including two old-fashioned three-point plays that gave Shade some positive momentum.

"We were really down at halftime," said Muha. "We really wanted to win because it was Taylor's last home game. We all just had this urge to fight as hard as we could and work as a team. I think we all responded very well."

But after trading buckets throughout the third quarter, Shade took its first lead at 31-30 after Rapsky answered Wheatley's triple with a 3-pointer of her own.

The Rockets will graduate four seniors, who helped propel the program back to the playoffs, while also assisting in establishing a much improved culture.

"Before them, this program was in pretty bad shape," said coach Hay. "Three out of their last four years they went to the playoffs. They're the pillars of this program. Without them, we're not where we're at now. They've done a wonderful job. They mean the world to Rockwood basketball, and we'll be forever grateful for them."