Homer-Center's Emily Worcester (22) and Alexis Leysock defended against Penns Manor's Autumn Fennell during Monday night's Heritage Conference semifinals. (Teri Enciso/Gazette)

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Homer-Center coach Tom Lasher and the bench celebrated after the Wildcats secured the victory. (Teri Enciso/Gazette)

HOMER CITY Penns Manor came alive late, nabbed its first lead of the game with 1:49 left in the fourth quarter and appeared poised to seal a come-from-behind win over Homer-Center.

But just when it seemed the Comets would again end another Wildcats winning streak on their home court, Homer-Center stood its ground and finished the game the way it started it.

The Wildcats scored the games final seven points and avenged their last loss by gutting out a 54-48 win in the semifinal round of the Heritage Conference girls basketball playoffs Monday night at the HomerDome.

Homer-Center (19-2), the Heritage Conference South Division champion, faces North Division champ West Shamokin in the championship game Friday night at the KCAC. The Wildcats have won nine consecutive games since losing to Penns Manor, 58-40, on Jan. 12. Homer-Center dealt the Wolves their lone conference setback of the season, 51-50, on Jan.16.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Penns Manor (15-7), which qualified for the District 6 Class 2A playoffs. The Comets will face a team to be announced at a date and location to be announced.

This wasnt just another game. We really wanted this one, Homer-Center coach Tom Lasher said. We didnt think we played our best game the first time we played them, but they played very well. We wanted another chance at them and we got it, and Im very proud at my team for the way they finished.

Theyve been down before many times and theyve come back. They never quit. I tell them they have a lot of heart, and I believe that. They just really believe in themselves.

Homer-Center raced to an early 9-0 lead and controlled the tempo for the entirety of the first half to take an 11-point halftime lead, 24-13.

The Wildcats continued to dictate the pace and maintained at least a nine-point lead until the Comets urgently began swarming the ball with a full-court press in the fourth quarter.

Penns Manors press created a chaotic pace that the Wildcats struggled to cope with for a span of three minutes. During that time, the Comets forced a handful of turnovers and mounted a 15-5 burst to momentarily seize the momentum.

Lauren Dumm scored six of her eight points to fuel the streak for the Comets.

The onslaught ended when Autumn Fennell banked in layups on back-to-back possessions, the second of which gave Penns Manor its lone lead of the game, 48-47, with 1:49 left on the clock.

Lasher called a timeout after Fennells second layup, and the Wildcats responded by tightening their defensive clamps to shut out the Comets the rest of the game.

Alexis Newhouse and Emily Worcester scored three points apiece and sparked a 7-0 surge that put the finishing touches on an important revenge win for the Wildcats.

They did a very good job of handling our pressure late, Penns Manor coach Jason Miloser said. We had a couple girls who fouled out, which took away from our pressure, but give Homer-Center credit: They executed, they made foul shots, and they made their bunnies and did everything they needed to win the game.

We talk to our girls all the time about wanting it a little more than the other team, and obviously Homer-Center played a tremendous game and they wanted it badly. We made the comeback in the fourth quarter. We just couldnt quite seal the deal.

Newhouse, who scored 12 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, expanded on how the Wildcats used their regular-season loss to Penns Manor as a motivator.

We knew they would have some extra confidence coming into this game, she said. We were talking about how we havent beaten them on this court in two years, because they beat us here last year, so we definitely expected a tough game. We knew we had to come out strong, and that gave us incentive to really work hard and come out and get this W.

But like Lasher and her teammates, Newhouse knows even more significant games lurk on the horizon.

Going to the KCAC is going to be the real icing on the cake, Newhouse said. Getting there has been our goal all year. We knew we could do it. We just had to redeem ourselves tonight.

Alexis Leysock chipped in 11 points for Homer-Center.

Fennell scored 18 points, and Abby Tomayko had 10.

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Wildcats get their revenge on Comets - Indiana Gazette