It happened in a flash. It was the play of the year in Lebanon County basketball this season.

 And it took a special player to pull it off. One like Amelia Baldo.

 On Friday night at Spring Grove High School, Baldo did what she does best – perform in the clutch – and it propelled the Palmyra girls’ basketball team into the semifinals of the PIAA District Three Class AAAAA postseason tournament. Baldo’s basket with less than a second left on the clock was the game-winner, as her Cougars shaded Spring Grove 43-41 in thrilling fashion.

 With 0.6 seconds showing on the game clock, the senior point guard accepted an in-bounds pass under the basket from a teammate, went directly to her left hand with the ball and laid it off the rim and in to beat the buzzer. It was an amazing chain of events that was hard to believe, even for those who were there to witness it.

 But for Baldo, it was simply making another play, something she’s been doing throughout her solid career as a Cougar, and especially during her senior year. Baldo, along with fellow senior Olivia Richardson, has shown the way in what is turning into a memorable playoff push for Palmyra.

 – Jeff Falk