Bethel Park takes the defensive against Upper St. Clair
Kaitlyn Chess (No. 34) looks to score against Diandra Conwell during Bethel Park’s 46-34 victory against Upper St. Clair. Chess scored seven points as did Shannon Conely but the Hawks were led by Justina Mascaro’s 15 tallies. Conwell fired in eight points in the loss.
Shannon Conely puts up a basket despite the defensive efforts of Kate Groninger (No. 44) and Sarah McMurtry (No. 24). Conely pitched in seven points, including a critical three-pointer during the decisive third quarter, as Bethel Park defeated Upper St. Clair, 46-34, during girls’ basketball action.
When Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair met the first time in Section 4-AAAA girls’ basketball play, the Lady Hawks limited the Lady Panthers to 47 points. Problem though was BP mustered only 44 points.
That lack of offensive output bothered Jonna Burke but not as much as BP’s lax defense. So when the two teams met a second time on Jan. 22, the Lady Hawks took it up a notch. Thanks to defense, they reversed their previous decision, posting a 46-34 triumph.
“I felt the key to the game was doing a better job defensively than we did the last time we played them,” said Burke.
The Lady Hawks did a particularly good job against USC in the third quarter. BP held the Panthers to a 3-pointer from Diandra Conwell. At the other end of the court, the Lady Hawks buried three long-range shots by Paige Kochka-Puskar, Shannon Conely and Mia Mattes to pull away, 30-18, to start the second half. BP lead, 34-21, after three quarters.
“The threes opened things up for us,” agreed Burke. “It was enough to get us ahead.”
True. Thanks to full-court pressure, the Lady Panthers pounced on the Lady Hawks in the fourth frame. They cut the margin to seven, 40-33, on a free throw from Rachel Mazzie.
Free throws from Kochka-Puskar, Justina Mascaro and Kaitlyn Chess sealed the victory for the Lady Hawks in the final 1:42 of play.
Though Mascaro led all scorers with 15 tallies, USC contained the sophomore in the first half. She scored just three points, which proved the difference in the score as BP lead, 21-18, at halftime.
After USC edged ahead, 7-6, BP used the hot hand of Mattes to construct a 12-7 lead. Mattes had two threes in the second stanza and finished with nine markers. Paige Kochka-Puskar tossed in two, 3-pointers and finished with eight points. Chess and Conely each contributed seven tallies.
“Honestly, it was the girls just taking shots,” Burke said. “They had done a good job on Justina and we were fortunate the other girls stepped up and hit shots.
“I’m proud of the kids’ effort,” Burke continued. “They fought and clawed. I’m pleased with them collectively. Everybody responded and chipped in.
With the victory, BP stretched its winning streak to nine games. The Lady Hawks improved to 12-4 overall. They edged ahead of Mt. Lebanon by half game in the section standings, improving to 8-2. The Hawks host the Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26.
With the loss, USC dropped to 10-6 overall and to fourth place in the section. The Lady Panthers are 6-4.
A bright spot for USC was Liv McClelland. The freshman scored a team-high nine points. Conwell followed with eight markers. Mazzie and Madison Serio finished with six and four points respectively.