Clairton slips by California in OT thriller
By Jose Negron
jnegron@yourmvi.com
It wasn’t the type of game Clairton head coach Carlton Wade wanted to see, but he’ll take a trip to the WPIAL Class A semifinals any day.
The fourth-seeded Bears overcame a plethora of turnovers and a less than ideal showing from the free throw line to squeeze past No. 12 California, 43-41, in overtime of a quarterfinal matchup Friday at Charleroi High School.
Clairton (20-3) committed 36 turnovers while shooting just over 50% from the free throw line. The Bears went 5 for 15 from the charity stripe before junior Taylor Jackson went a perfect 6 for 6 in the final 1:29 of regulation.
“It was a struggle and at first I thought we had a hold of it a little bit, but it seemed like my girls got tired and the turnovers came,” Wade said. “(Turnovers) have bugged us before in games and we’ve survived them, so this just showed the heart of our team.
“We haven’t been this far in 17 or 18 years, so it’s a testament to the team to fight through what we fought through to win the game.”
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