Dax Thomas State Farm leapfrogs AMD Industries into second place
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
Dax Thomas State Farm didn’t hold the lead for long, but they pulled ahead at the right time to rally past AMD Industries in a Mon Valley Independent Summer Basketball League Girls Division contest.
Dax Thomas State Farm now sits all alone in second place as Serra Catholic’s Chloe Pordash’s 3-pointer and two free throws inside the final 28 seconds helped her team pull out a 44-40 win over the short-handed defending champions.
With her team trailing 40-39, State Farm’s Emma Seto (Brownsville) picked up an offensive rebound and found Pordash all alone in the corner for a three to make it 42-40.
Pordash added both ends of a 1-and-1 with 7.7 seconds to go to seal the win. It was sweet redemption for Pordash, who was hit with a technical foul in the first half.
“Chloe is Chloe,” D.T. State Farm head coach Tommy Rodriguez said. “But she calmed down after the technical and she played like a senior late. She’s not afraid to take a big shot and knock it down.”
Pordash led Dax Thomas State Farm (6-2) with a team-high 14 points. She scored nine in the second half.
Seto did her job, finishing with nine points and 12 rebounds.
“Emma plays so hard,” Rodriguez said. “She works underneath the basket and kept a lot of possessions alive for us on the offensive glass.”
AMD came out firing on all cylinders, racing out to a 12-2 lead behind four points each from Marina Grado (Gateway), Farrah Reader (Belle Vernon) and Kirra Gerard (Ringgold).
Grado was the story, ripping the nets for 16 points in the opening half for AMD Industries (5-3). Grado used her defensive prowess and attacking offensive skills over and over.
“We had trouble stopping her early on,” Rodriguez said. “She’s a great player and she had things going early.”
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