Talent, not luck, taking Bishop Canevin to the top
Though they wear shamrocks on the back of their jerseys and believe that 31 is their lucky number, nothing the Bishop Canevin girls do on the basketball court is a fluke. They are down right good all the way down to their freshmen, including Shamyjha Price.
Price exploded for 12, second-stanza tallies and finished with a game-high 16 points as the Crusaders coasted past their arch rival, Seton-La Salle, 53-28, to finish first half of Section 3-AA undefeated.
“She’s electric,” BC floor boss Tim Joyce said of Price. “Coming off the bench, she gives us a spark. She’s getting more and more confidence. She’s something.”
So are Joyce’s veterans. He returned all five starters from last year’s club that finished as the section and district runner-up before reaching the Final Four in the PIAA tournament.
“All the kids here understand that the bar is set high here,” Joyce said. “What our goal is, what we shoot for is to play 31 games. Last year, we played 30.”
If rankings are to be believed, the Crusaders should get there. They are ranked No. 2 in the state behind defending PIAA champion, Neumann-Goretti. After victories against Burgettstown and Steel Valley, Canevin improved its section mark to 9-0 and 14-1 overall. Their lone loss, 44-40, came in the season opener against Hempfield, a Quad-A power.
Gina Vallecorsa leads the Crusaders. She has had a major impact on the program, having started since her freshman year when the team won its last WPIAL title and PIAA championship.
“I came in with a bang and I want to go out with a bang,” said Vallecorsa of her goal for another state title.
Vallecorsa certainly is doing her share to help the Crusaders in that quest. She is the team’s top scorer, averaging 13.7 points per game. On Dec. 26, she surpassed a milestone, registering her 1,000th career point. During a 63-45 win against Ringgold at the California Hoopfest, she finished with 13 points. Ironically, the achievement was reached on the court where she will play collegiately.
This past November, Vallecorso signed a letter-of-intent to play for the Vulcans, who are the defending NCAA Division II champions. Vallecorsa picked Cal U over Niagara, West Liberty, Monmouth and IUP because of the winning tradition.
“I like to win and they like to win,” said the prospective accounting major. “Obviously, I have been around a winning program my whole life so there is nowhere else I would want to go.”
For now, Vallecorsa and her teammates will settle for a trip to Hershey in mid-March. After dismantling Seton-La Salle, outscoring the Rebels, 17-7, and taking a 31-14 lead by halftime, the Crusaders appear on their way. “The first half was one of the best that we’ve put together,” said Joyce, “but I wasn’t too happy with our first four possessions in the third quarter.” Canevin, however, outscored SLS, 11-6, in the frame. “Offensively, we have been inconsistent. Defense is what has paced us. I’m happy with our defensive effort.”
The Crusaders average 53.8 points per game. Only four teams in Class AA average more. Defensively, they permit only 31.4 points per game, best in the league.
A stable, unified first five is a big reason for Canevin’s success on both ends of the court. In addition to Vallecorsa, Erin Joyce is a four-year veteran. The senior guard led the Crusaders with 10 tallies in their win Jan. 14 against Burgettstown, 58-29. Joyce can remember when the Crusaders snapped SLS’s 66-game winning streak, upsetting the Rebels in the WPIAL finals and PIAA semifinals in 2013. Additionally, the Rebels had won all but two of the team’s past 15 showdowns in the last four years. Until last week’s loss, SLS had not lost a section contest in 64 games.
“Beating Seton is always special and the rivalry goes back to the old Catholic league,” said Joyce. “They’ve been the best team around for a number of years and we enjoy playing this game. It’s why we play up. To play games like this one.”
The Crusaders likely will be playing big games for years to come as Sarah Green, a junior, and sophomores Lauren Gamble and Brionna Allen round out the starting five. Allen followed Price and Vallecorsa (14) in double digits against the Rebels, finishing with 13 tallies. Meanwhile, Joyce and Green have been consistent double-digit performers for Canevin the past two seasons.
Additionally, sophomore Kasey Kaczorowski and senior Rachel Hildebrand provide quality minutes off the bench for the Crusaders. And, with more critical games ahead, including exhibitions against Hollidaysburg on Jan. 23 and Villa Marie on Feb. 4, as well as the rematch at Seton-La Salle on Feb. 4, Canevin continues to develop its depth. They also rely upon underclassmen such as juniors Zoe Woods and Kayla Alford; sophomore Marissa Pekular and freshmen Ciarra Longo, Gillan Gustine, Danielle Deasy and Annie Meier.