(Video interview of Lindsay Zacherl (left) and Tori Obenrader (right))

But Zacherl made her lone two points count netting the game-winning basket at the horn in double overtime to give the She-Wolves a 49-47 win over the rival Lady Panthers.

“I was thinking oh my god, I hope I make it,” Zacherl, who was wide open on the right side of the basket after the Keystone defenders all collapsed on a driving Tori Obenrader, said. “I was so happy that we won.”

Listen to the game as it was called by Mike Kalinowski and Dustin Kifer.

With the game tied at 47 after a Michaela Higgins free throw with 19.3 seconds left, Keystone had a chance to win the game. But Taylor Geer was called for a travel with 8.4 seconds to go, and Obenrader, North Clarion’s do-everything junior star who finished with 24 points and 21 rebounds, took the ball inbounds and dribbled up the court before dishing the ball to Zacherl as the Keystone defenders converged on her.

Watch the final basket.

“I knew that was going to happen,” Obenrader said. “It was kind of how the play was set, to get the ball to me and go to the hoop. But, I knew they were going to double-team on me, and I knew there was going to be an open girl.”

North Clarion head coach Terry Dreihaup said the play worked because Obenrader was able to see Zacherl open.

“It developed from Tori seeing her,” Dreihaup said. “Tori gets crowds whenever she has the ball. She saw her opposite block. She gave her the ball. She made the shot. Give credit to both of them. It was a good play.”

It was the second straight year North Clarion beat Keystone in double overtime at North Clarion. Last year, the She-Wolves earned a 61-59 win over the Lady Panthers.

“I never thought it would be like this,” Obenrader, who had 17 points and 29 rebounds in last year’s win, said. “I thought it would be a tough game and something we wanted to pull out, but I never thought it would be like last year.”

North Clarion had a chance to win the game in the final seconds of regulation, and Keystone had an opportunity in the final seconds of the first overtime, but neither could seal the deal.

With the game tied at 36 in the final seconds of regulation, Keystone held for the last shot only to have Higgins come away with a steal with 2.6 seconds left. Higgins was fouled on the play by Mackenzie Byerly putting her at the free-throw line for a 1-and-1.

But the senior missed the charity shot, and the game went to overtime.

In overtime, North Clarion had leads of 38-36, 40-38 and 42-40, but Kaci Weaver scored on a twisting shot in the lane with 1:08 to go to tie the game at 42.

Keystone then forced a jump ball when a pass from Cassie Wagner to Obenrader was just a little off, and the possession arrow favored the Lady Panthers with 45.3 seconds to play.

After running the clock down to 15.7 seconds left, Keystone called time out. But the Lady Panthers play out of the timeout was disrupted by an Obenrader tip of a pass into the backcourt with 7.9 seconds left. Keystone was able to corral the ball and get it back inside to Geer, who finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, as time was running down. But Geer’s layup just before the buzzer was a little short sending the game to double overtime.

Watch the end of the first overtime.

“I told the girls, ‘no matter what, nobody gets an easy bucket,’” Dreihaup said. “They played tight defense. I told them they needed to help each other out when someone is driving down the middle, and they did a great job of that.”

In the second overtime session, Geer opened the scoring with a basket at the 2:49 mark before hitting one of two free throws with 2:20 remaining to put Keystone up 45-42.

After Obenrader hit two charity shots to make it 45-44, Weaver put the Lady Panthers back up three, 47-44, with a basket at the 1:11 mark..

Obenrader then missed a 3-pointer, and North Clarion was forced to foul Weaver. Weaver, though, missed both free throws, and Obenrader got an offensive rebound and a put back on the other end to make it 47-46 with 30.3 seconds to go.

Forced to foul again, the She-Wolves again fouled Weaver. And the senior again missed both free throws.

Higgins was then fouled by Byerley with the infraction being Byerly’s fifth and final foul.

But Higgins again missed the first free throw. This time, however, because of the double bonus, the North Clarion senior got a second chance and calmly sunk the second charity shot to tie the game at 47.

“The one she missed in regulation, she was tired,” Dreihaup said. “Her legs were tired. She wasn’t getting into her legs. The first one (in the second overtime) she did the same thing. Both coach (Terri Obenrader) and I yelled out ‘use your legs’, and she made the second one. It was a great basket.”

Keystone came right back down the court, and Geer looked like she would give the Lady Panthers the lead with a driving layup. But she was whistled for taking too many steps right before releasing her shot, which was waved off immediately by the official.

“I think for one, there is a nice rivalry between us,” Dreihaup answered when asked why the North Clarion/Keystone games are so fierce. “The girls get up for this game. They really wanted to win this game. The girls are really fighting to stay undefeated. That’s really what they want to do. They played hard this game. I give them all the credit, and Keystone played super.”

North Clarion came out on fire and grabbed a 9-0 lead in the game’s first 3 ½ minute behind 3-pointers from Obenrader and Higgins and the offensive rebounding of freshman Abby Gatesman, who had six of her eight boards in the first quarter.

But Keystone behind 3-pointers from Weaver, Alyssa Beichner and Beyerly clawed back to within a point, 15-14, by the end of the quarter

Then, thanks in part to four points from Geer, the Lady Panthers took a 22-20 halftime lead.

The game stayed within four points the rest of the way with Keystone leading throughout the entire second half until a 3-pointer by Ally Carll off an Obenrader pass early in the fourth quarter tied the contest at 32.

“It was a huge shot,” Dreihaup said. “She was open, and Tori found her with the assist. She got her feet set, followed through and it went in. Great shot for her.”

Keystone answered with baskets from Geer and Weaver to take a 36-32 lead with 3:49 to go, but it was Obenrader with a basket at the 2:42 mark to cut the lead to two, and then, after Obenrader missed a pair of free throws with 1:59 to go, Higgins hit both ends of a one-and-one with 1:03 left to make it a tie game.

Weaver added 13 points for Keystone, while Carll, Wagner and Higgins each had six for North Clarion.

The win keeps North Clarion unbeaten at 6-0 with Keystone dropping to 1-5, although the Lady Panthers five losses have come against teams — Mars, Slippery Rock, Karns City and Moniteau — that are a combined 22-6.

Both teams are now off until after Christmas.

North Clarion is at the Kane Tournament Tuesday and Wednesday while Keystone is at the Cranberry Tournament Wednesday and Thursday.

NORTH CLARION 49, KEYSTONE 47, 2 OVERTIMES

Score by Quarters

Keystone 14 8 8 6 6 5 — 47
N. Clarion 15 5 7 9 6 7 — 49

KEYSTONE — 47

McKenzie Hovis 2 0-0 4, Taylor Geer 10 4-7 24, Makenzie Byerley 1 0-2 3, Kaci Weaver 6 0-4 13, Alyssa Beichner 1 0-0 3, Danica Hurrelbrink 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Dunlap 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 4-13 47.

NORTH CLARION — 49

Abby Gatesman 2 1-2 5, Tori Obenrader 9 5-8 24, Ally Carll 2 1-4 6, Cassie Wagner 2 2-2 6, Michaela Higgins 1 3-5 6, Lindsay Zacherl 1 0-0 2, Gabby Carll 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 12-21 49.

Three-pointers: Keystone 3 (Byerley, Weaver, Beichner). North Clarion 3 (Obenrader, A. Carll, Higgins).