MINERSVILLE - Someone knew what Reighly Melochick was going to do in the final seconds of Wednesday night's non-league game between Minersville and Pine Grove.
But it wasn't Melochick.
Her pull-up jumper with 9.2 seconds remaining clanged off the rim three times before it fell through the twine and on to the hardwood.
The Battlin' Miners' defense held off a Cardinals assault during the remaining time, securing a 55-53 victory.
After the game, Minersville forward Emily Mealey was convinced Melochick knew that would be the result all along.
"Emily Mealey told me in the locker room, 'Reighly, I saw it in your eyes. I saw exactly what you were doing. I knew your move,' " Melochick said. "I told her I was glad she knew what I was doing, because I didn't have a plan."
The game-winning bucket was the capper to Melochick's game-high 27 points that included seven 3-point field goals. Mealey finished with 11 points.
Right from the start of the game, when she hit her first 3-pointer from the left corner, Melochick knew Wednesday's victory was unusual for her first game of the season.
"Never in my life during my first game (of the season) has my shooting been on," she said. "My first varsity shot ever hit off the side of the backboard from the same place I had my first one today."
The Miners' victory seemed far more certain in the first half, during which they held a 17-point lead. Pine Grove outscored Minersville 19-9 in the third quarter to lower the deficit.
For Pine Grove coach Chris George, the reason his Cardinals managed to claw back into the game was fundamental.
"We just cleaned up a lot of little things," he said. "It wasn't a magic pill on
defense. We ran a couple different defenses. It didn't matter what we ran in the first half, we didn't run it well."
Minersville coach Jared Homa saw a different reason for the Cardinals' comeback: Pine Grove senior guard Becky Evans.
"Alyse Ryan did a nice job on her defensively, but you can only control her for so long," Homa said. "She's going to take over the game eventually.
"Pine Grove took over the boards a little, they got second and third shots. I don't think it was anything we did wrong, it was more the positives that Pine Grove had."
Evans finished with 24 points. She hit a 3-pointer and two free throws down the stretch to bring the Cardinals within two points with 2:36 to play.
Pine Grove senior forward Brittanie Whitman hit the game-tying lay-up with 1:26 remaining.
The Cardinals had a chance with just over a minute remaining to grab their first lead, but the possession came up empty.
Then it was the Miners' turn to go for the win.
"We were going to look for a quick one," Homa said. "We were looking for either Reighly, Abby Schoffstall or Emily Mealey off of some type of ball screen. If not, we were going to our stall offense.
"But Pine Grove switched at 30 seconds and left Reighly 1-on-1 with their big person and she was able to take her."
Melochick's game-winning score was the fourth time in as many games the Cardinals (1-3) had a decision come down to a last-second play. Pine Grove lost 39-38 to Lebanon, defeated Northern Lebanon 40-38 and lost 54-53 to Schuylkill Valley.
"I'm proud of the girls, they battled hard," George said. "Not too many teams are down by (17) and don't give up. That's the advantage of having a young team - they're pretty resilient. I don't think they were overthinking anything too much."
Wednesday's victory was Minersville's first game of the season after having an earlier game with Panther Valley postponed.
It might have made things more challenging for Minersville (1-0) to open with Pine Grove, but it was worth it for the equally-youthful Miners.
Both teams combined to play six freshmen and four sophomores Wednesday night.
"You really don't want to open up with a team like Pine Grove," Homa said. "But it's going to help us because we're going to play a lot of younger kids. It's going to help with their maturity." Game Summary