Rookie guard Samantha Zoffranieri goes off for 17 points, as Panthers edge Capers in overtime

By Thomas Becker

A secret weapon emerged for the UPEI Panthers. Her name: Samantha Zoffranieri. 

During the regular season, the rookie point guard played sparingly until the final weekend when she accumulated 51 minutes over two games. But on Friday night, Zoffranieri went off for a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds to propel her team to the semifinals following a 71-67 win over the Cape Breton Capers in overtime.

Aiden Rainford also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while recently named all-star Lauren Rainford had 15 points and four assists.

"I just go out there to work hard," said Zoffranieri. "When I'm playing, it's not about me. I just focus on the game and what's best for the team."

The Panthers needed everything and more from Zoffranieri, especially after the team stumbled out of the gate and spotted the Capers an early 14-0 advantage. 

"It was a lot," said head coach Matt Gamblin of the emotional toll the game took on everyone involved. "The way they gutted it out over time was impressive." 

It wasn't a great start for the Panthers, who surrendered the first 14 points before scoring themselves. Cape Breton's MacKenzee Ryan was the catalyst in the run, scoring eight of those points.

After a Panther timeout, Karla Yepez connected on a three-pointer to stop the bleeding. Moments later, Aiden capped off a Panthers' 8-0 run with a layup and a midrange jumper to cut the deficit in half.

From there, the two teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter, as the Capers carried a 20-11 advantage into the second.

After a Leandra Hersey three-pointer made it an eight-point game, the Panthers stormed in front 29-26 behind a 13-2 run. Moments later, Aiden gathered her own miss and went up for the putback to make it 32-26.

UPEI outscored the Capers 23-11 in the quarter and went into the break ahead 34-31. Yepez and Aiden led the way with seven apiece, while Ryan scored 11 of her game-high 19 points.

Cape Breton opened the second half with a 9-2 run to pull in front 40-36, but that lead was short-lived. After Aiden got Kiyara Letlow to bite on a fake for an easy layup, Zoffranieri connected on a triple to give UPEI the lead back, 41-40.

The back-and-forth affair continued throughout the third where the two teams were locked in a 46-46 tie.

Off back-to-back Cape Breton misses early in the fourth, Zoffranieri took the ball and raced down the floor for consecutive layups to give UPEI a 55-50 lead. A couple possessions later, Zoffranieri stole the ball and went in for the uncontested lay-in to make it 58-50 with 5:40 to play.

With the Capers trailing by 11, Hannah Smith scored five straight points, forcing the Panthers to regroup with a timeout with 2:14 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Ryan drilled a triple to trim the lead to three.

In the final seconds, Ryan was awarded two free throws after she was fouled driving hard to the basket. At the line, she made the first but intentionally missed the second, leading to a putback layup by Darah Fleurgin to send the game to overtime. There was a bit of confusion after the play, as Ryan's shot didn't appear to hit the rim, which would've resulted in a violation. However, the refs couldn't overturn the non-call and the game went to overtime regardless. 

In the extra frame, the Panthers' defence clamped down and only allowed one basket from the Capers, while they scored six points the other way. Cape Breton had a chance to tie iy in the dying seconds, but as Letlow dribbled up the court, Sydney Cummins raced from behind and swiped the ball to seal the win.

The Panthers will now face the Saint Mary's Huskies in semifinal action Saturday at 6:30 p.m.