Girl power: 3 area teams win WPIAL titles
Chartiers Valley celebrates after capturing the first WPIAL title in girls’ basketball history. The Lady Colts defeated Oakland Catholic, 52-36, to win the Class 5-A title.
Ashley Spence (No. 45), Justina Mascaro (center) and Rebecca Rodriguez (right) gather for a group hug after Bethel Park’s loss to North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 6-A championship game.
Megan McConnell congratulates her teammate, Mackenzie Wagner, as she is about to step to the free throw line to seal Chartiers Valley’s 52-36 victory against Oakland Catholic and secure the Lady Colts their first-ever WPIAL championship for girls’ basketball.
Sarah Green, surrounded by her teammates, holds the championship trophy Bishop Canevin claimed after beating Neshannock, 65-36, in the WPIAL Class 3-4 final.
Chartiers-Houston players hoist the WPIAL trophy after winning the first girls’ basketball title in school history. The Bucs defeated Vincentian Academy, 47-35, for the Class 2-A championship.
Girls’ basketball teams from The Almanac readership area flexed their muscles during the WPIAL championships played March 2-4 at the Petersen Event Center. Three brought home the gold and a fourth finished as runner-up.
Chartiers Valley and Chartiers-Houston captured the first girls’ basketball titles in their school’s history while Bishop Canevin added its third banner since 2013.
CV used a 20-3 run in the final frame to defeat Oakland Catholic, 52-36, for the Class 5-A title. Mackenzie Wagner and Megan McConnell fueled the rally. Wagner fired in 19 points, including six off free throws in the fourth quarter. She was 12 of 13 from the line. McConnell followed with 16 tallies. The freshman buried four, 3-point field goals, including a pair in the third quarter and one that afforded the Colts a 40-35 advantage with 4:58 to play.
As they headed into the final eight minutes of action, after slicing a 26-19 halftime deficit to one, 33-32, Dan Slain offered encouraging words to his players.
“This is where you get to make history,” said the CV skipper.
“This is a team with great heart,” he added. “They refuse to quit. That’s just the mental toughness of this team. Mental toughness is what gets you through situations when you’re down by seven at the half. You come out and say, ‘This is who we are.'”
In winning the first title in school history, Chartiers-Houston showed who they were as they dominated Class 2-A action. Seeded first in the tournament, the Buccaneers blitzed in the first frame and coasted to victory against Vincentian Academy, 47-35. The Bucs led by 13 after the opening minutes of action, 17-4.
“This feels great,” said senior guard Jala Walker of the championship.
C-H head coach Laura Montecalvo added, “I’m so proud of our kids. Everyone talks about Vincentian history and tradition,” Montecalvo said of the Royals, who had won the past five titles, “but I think we’re starting one at Chartiers-Houston.”
Perhaps, as the Bucs boast just two seniors on the roster and their leading scorer is just a junior. Alexa Williamson pumped in a game-high 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Keaira Walker followed with 10 tallies. Madison Simpson (4) and Jules Vulcano (7) contributed timely points, particularly after the Royals narrowed the gap, 25-17.
Canevin, like the Royals, boast a winning tradition and, with only two seniors, are not likely to stop at two straight WPIAL titles. The Crusaders dominated Neshannock from start to finish, opening with a 9-0 run before settling into a 45-15 lead by halftime. Canevin shot 17 of 26 from the field in the first 16 minutes of play.
“They are a very good team,” said Neshannock coach Caitlyn Burkes. “They pressure you. They are quick, athletic and have great speed. They hit on all cylinders. They hit every shot they took.”
Shamyjha Price connected on all five of her shots from the floor in the first frame and finished with a game-high 21 points. In addition, Gillan Gustine came off the bench and buried five, 3-point field goals to follow with 15 tallies. Sarah Green supplied 10 markers and Lauren Gamble finished with eight points, also draining a pair of 3-point buckets.
After knocking off the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the tournament, Bethel Park found North Allegheny too tough a task to surmount. The Lady Hawks lost to the top-ranked and multi-faceted club, 50-39.
“Honestly,” said BP skipper Jonna Burke, “it’s like playing whack-a-mole. When you think you’ve stopped them one way, then the next one popped up. That’s what happened. We’re used to getting big stops. The last few games, that’s what’s gotten us here was getting big stops. But they just had too many weapons for us to continually get big stops.”
Though BP fell behind, 14-9, and trailed at the half, 25-19, they closed the gap, 32-30, on a 3-point field goal from Maria Cerro. But NA outscored the Hawks from there, 18-9. Rachel Martindale buried five 3-point field goals and connected on six of six shots from the line in the final minutes to put the game away. The sophomore finished with 23 points.
Justina Mascaro led the Hawks with 13 points and Kamryn Lach followed with 12, all off treys. Cerro managed nine tallies.
The four WPIAL finalists now embark on quests for state championships as PIAA tournament action commences this weekend.
On March 10, Bethel Park faces Penn Hills at 7:30 p.m. at North Allegheny while Chartiers-Houston will play Cranberry at 6 p.m. at Peters Township. Other games involving local teams that qualified for PIAA action to be played on that date include: Mt. Lebanon vs State College at 6 p.m. at Bald Eagle; Keystone Oaks vs. North Catholic at 6 p.m. at Gateway.
On March 11, Chartiers Valley will play Hickory at 6 p.m. at Peters Township while Canevin takes on Central Cambria at 3 p.m. at Northgate. Also on Saturday, South Fayette will play Obama Academy at 4 p.m. at Allderdice.