Bernie Pucka said he had a feeling his team was going to win.
The vibe, the energy, the lack of nervousness from his girls, it all seemed to put him at ease.
But the Franklin Regional girls basketball coach didn’t quite envision a finish like this.
Junior guard Chloe Pucka drove in for the go-ahead basket — a driving, spinning floater in the lane — with 3.4 seconds remaining as the Panthers slipped past Shaler, 45-43, and into the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs.
The win-or-go-home Section 1 finale Thursday night in Murrysville came with its challenges for Franklin Regional (11-10, 7-5), which lost a 13-point lead in the third quarter as Shaler (11-11, 6-6) continually pushed back.
“Winning is a relief, losing is demoralizing,” Bernie Pucka said. “This is incredible. This section is as competitive as it gets from the top down. We’re happy to be here.”
The well-earned playoff clincher is the Panthers’ fourth win in five games.
The Titans, who have lost 6 of 7 — long after they lost 17.5-point scorer Reese Smetanka, a junior guard, to an ACL 10 games into the season — went nearly 8 minutes without a field goal after making just one in the second quarter.
Yet there they were, chopping away at a deficit and staring down a chance to win in the closing minutes.
“I am really proud of our team tonight,” Shaler coach Tony Grenek said. “We used a ton of freshmen and sophomores. They battled until the end. They showed a lot of heart. But so did Franklin Regional. They made one more play than we did.”
A five-point lead with 3:42 remaining was far from safe safe as Shaler junior Olivia Gieraltowski answered junior Gemma Sadoski’s 3 with one of her own to get Shaler closer at 41-39.
Sophomore Alyssa Bridges connected on a short jumper for the Panthers for a 43-39 edge, and then made two straight blocks, taking the ball away in one motion on the second swat.
But Shaler, like it had all night, would not rest. Gieraltowski, who had a game-high 16 points, scored again and freshman Juliana Hartz made two free throws to tie it 43-43 with 28.3 seconds to play.
After the teams traded turnovers, the Panthers inbounded from just across midcourt with 12.9 seconds left.
That’s when the Panthers decided they didn’t want to play overtime again.
Sophomore Katherine Yaniga passed to Pucka, who flipped it back to Yaniga.
Yaniga swung the ball to Pucka again on the wing.
Pucka wrapped around a defender, spun past another with two dribbles and sent the shot up to make it 45-43.
“That’s our T-game,” Bernie Pucka said. “Katherine to Chloe. Coach Krista (Pietropola) was working with the girls on spin moves at practice. It worked out tonight.”
Chloe Pucka scores with 3.4 seconds left to lift Franklin Regional to a 45-43 win over Shaler.
Shaler had one last chance but doesn't get a shot.
Franklin Regional is going to the playoffs.@FRPantherSports@frladypanthers@Shaler_Titans@TribLiveHSSN#wpialhoopspic.twitter.com/7MS5ekINJs
— Bill Beckner (@BillBeckner) February 6, 2026
Shaler had possession with 3.4 seconds and no timeouts left but couldn’t get a shot off after inbounding under Franklin Regional’s basket.
“I just thought, any way to get to the rim,” said Chloe Pucka, who played most of the fourth with four fouls. “Once I got around (her defender), I just went for it.
“Our seniors have always been really good to us. I wanted to give it back to them.”
The payback theme was twofold as the Panthers avenged a 60-56 loss in overtime to Shaler earlier in the season.
“That loss was on our minds,” Chloe Pucka said. “We were up 11-3 in the first quarter. We didn’t want to lose to them again.”
Franklin Regional took a 23-12 lead at halftime, ending the second quarter with a 14-0 run.
The Titans outscored the Panthers in the third 17-7 to get to within 30-29. Junior Emily Berger had eight in the third, including two 3s.
Shaler made seven 3s and seven 2s.
Gieraltowski’s determined hook shot gave the Titans a 31-30 lead early in the fourth, but Yaniga made a 3. Hartz drove into the heart of the defense for a tough layup to tie it 33-33.
“We’re a scrappy team,” Chloe Pucka said.
Bridges gave the Panthers control again with another jumper, and two straight 3s from Sadoski made it 41-36 before the Titans rallied again.
Franklin Regional tried to play with patience, but the Titans forced miscues with their pressure.
“We were getting a lot of 3-on-2s and 2-on-1s,” Bernie Pucka said. “We tried to go one play at a time all night to take some of the pressure off the girls.”
Sadoski made four 3s, two in the first half and two in the fourth, and tied Bridges’ team high of 12 points.
Yaniga and Pucka had eight apiece.
The Panthers played without 5-foot-10 freshman forward Isabella Roberson, who suffered a concussion in the previous game against Armstrong.
The WPIAL will release playoff seedings and tournament brackets Monday.