Feb 16, 2016 By Eleanor Bailey 5 min read

When Sophia Klaber rebounded the basketball on a missed shot by North Hills, the diminutitve guard not only preserved a playoff win, 54-45, for Mt. Lebanon, she epitomized the Blue Devils’ philosophy for success in girls’ basketball.

“We always talk about team with the players,” said Lebo floor boss Dori Oldaker. “We don’t believe in a star player and our kids stick with that.”

And the approach works. Even when the Blue Devils featured Madison Cable, a 1,000-point scorer now at Notre Dame, they won three state titles and one PIAA runner-up trophy with the teamwork and balance they once again exhibited at Keystone Oaks on Feb. 12 against North Hills.

For example, Jess Wilhelm, like Klaber, did her part on the defensive side. The sophomore forward put the clamps on Jamie Halloran. The Indians’ leading scorer with 16 points per game registered just five markers before leaving the game with a head injury in the third quarter. Anna Treser, instead, led the way with 11 points for North Hills.

“Jess did a great job defensively,” Oldaker said. “She and Sophia, off the bench, shut Halloran down. Obviously, when they lost (Halloran) that hurt them, but our defense did a great job.”

In the final 4:40 of play, the Blue Devils certainly kicked it up a notch defensively. With the game tied, 43-43, Lebo outscored North Hills, 12-2, and sealed the victory.

“Crucial,” Oldaker said of the stretch that was triggered by Maura Wallace’s hoop and followed by the Indians’ turnover on the inbound play.

Critical to victory, too, was the play of McKenzie Bushee and Kate Sramac. A 6-2 center, Bushee dominated the inside attack, firing in 22 points, many from feeds from Sramac or off offensive rebounds. Freshman forward Jamey Napoleon followed with three key points while Wallace finished with five and Julia Rabeneck contributed four off the bench. Sramac notched double figures, registering 10 tallies.

“We had a nice size advantage and we took advantage of that inside,” explained Oldaker. “Our bigs did a great job. All three did a nice job underneath and our guards did a nice job getting the ball to them. Bushee did a good job, particularly catching some of those balls she did. Some of those were tough passes.”

A tough schedule, which has included games against some of the top teams in the state, such as State College, Central Dauphin and Cumberland Valley, as well as Ohio, such as Notre Dame and Hoover, has played a role so far in Lebo’s post-season success. The Blue Devils will now play Norwin on Feb. 19 in the quarterfinals. The Knights are undefeated, ranked No. 1 in the state, the defending WPIAL champion and the No. 1 seed in the Quad-A tournament.

“We played an unbelievable non-section schedule and that prepared us for the playoffs,” Oldaker said. “Norwin is one of the many great teams in this tournament but our focus is only on one team and that team is our team.”

BP advances

Bethel Park (18-5) is another of the strong teams in the Quad-A girls’ playoffs because of its preparation of competing in Section 4. The Lady Hawks tied Lebo in the division. Both finished with 10-4 showings and placed behind champions, Peters Township and Canon-McMillan, which both sported 11-3 marks.

The Hawks proved their strength in edging Seneca Valley, 49-47, in their post-season opener at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.

With the game tied, 44-44, with 1:55 to play, Shannon Conley converted a field goal. One minute later, Justina Mascaro cashed in on a pair of free throws. That gave the Hawks enough cushion to weather a 3-pointer from Michaela Lamont with 13 seconds to play and a free throw. A free throw from Kamryn Lach with nine seconds left iced the victory for BP, which capitalized on 18 of 22 attempts from the line.

For the Hawks, who play North Allegheny on Feb. 19 in the quarterfinals, Mascaro finished with 16 tallies. Conley followed with 13 markers.

In other Quad-A girls’ first-round playoff action, Peters Township played Hempfield while Canon-McMillan faced Fox Chapel last night (Feb. 15). The games were played too late for the results to appear in this week’s Almanac.

Class AAA

South Fayette (18-3) and Chartiers Valley (14-8) embark on their quest for WPIAL titles tonight (Feb. 17).

The Lions battle Ringgold (13-10) at 6:30 p.m. at Peters Township. The Rams are coming off a thrilling win against Laurel Highlands, 50-47. Hanna Gosliak buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to secure the win for the Rams. Ashley Briscoe and Bailey Cooper led the way offensively with 18 and 11 markers. On back-to-back layups in the first quarter, Cooper recorded her 1,000th career point.

Meanwhile, CV will take on Brownsville (19-3) at 6:30 p.m. at Trinity. The Lady Colts finished third in Section 5 behind the Lions and Trinity while the Falcons were runners-up to South Park (17-5).

Another Section 5 competitor, Keystone Oaks (10-13) fared well in its playoff opener. The Golden Eagles, who finished fourth in their division, upended Highlands, 49-41, at Fox Chapel. Maryah Agurs topped out with 20 tallies while Gillian Piccolino followed with 12 points.

KO now faces Ambridge at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Feb. 17) at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic. The Bridgers were the Section 2 champions with a 13-1 slate. Overall, they are 19-3 and seeded No. 3 in the tournament.

Class AA

Bishop Canevin (18-4) and Seton-La Salle (15-6), last year’s AA finalists, began their WPIAL title chase last night (Feb. 16). The Crusaders played Mohawk (18-5) at Chartiers Valley while the Rebels battled Greensburg Central Catholic (14-9) at Peters Township. Additionally, Chartiers-Houston (16-6) faced Washington (18-4) at Peters. The results of these games were too late for publication in The Almanac.