Peters Township falters in final
Eleanor Bailey/the almanac
Senior captains Lillian Young, Olivia Ziegler and Erin Gummersbach accept the WPIAL 6A runner-up trophy after Peters Township dropped a 79-48 decision to North Allegheny in the championship game at the Petersen Events Center.
Eleanor Bailey/the almanac
Makenna Marisa drives past Brynn Serbin during WPIAL girls’ basketball championship action. Marisa fired in 25 points but that was not enough as Peters Township dropped a 79-48 decision to North Allegheny in the finals.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
A disappointed Olivia Ziegler applauds as North Allegheny receives the championship trophy her Peters Township girls’ basketball team had wanted. The Lady Indians settled for silver after falling to the Tigers, 79-48. It was the second straight WPIAL title for the Tigers.
For the fourth and final time this basketball season, Peters Township (21-4) will battle Bethel Park (17-6). The Indians, who have won the three previous encounters, will take on the Hawks at 7:30 p.m. March 9 at Canon-McMillan in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament.
“It’s familiar territory,” PT skipper Bert Kendall said. “But there is a pressure that hasn’t been there. Before you got to keep on playing. Now it’s loser go home for the season.”
While the Indians had beaten the Hawks twice to capture the Section 3 title, they won the most important clash on Feb. 27. Their 55-39 triumph catapulted them into the WPIAL finals for the first time since 2008.
“It was a huge win,” conceded Kendall of the victory. “While we’ve never played the same team four times before I think it gives us a confidence level that we know we can beat them. If we play our game, I think we’ll be okay.”
The Indians were anything but okay when they stepped on the floor at the Petersen Events Center on March 3 to play nationally-ranked North Allegheny (25-0) for the WPIAL championship.
“We were a little wide-eyed,” Kendall said. “We were playing on that big floor for the first time. It was hard.”
The Tigers certainly made it tough as they dominated the boards. They used all five players on the glass to gain a 37-21 advantage in rebounding as the Indians succumbed to the two-time WPIAL champions, 79-48.
“We just did not rebound the basketball. And we knew we needed to,” Kendall said. “For whatever reason, we weren’t able to get our hands on the loose balls and box out. That was probably the biggest difference.”
Another deal-breaker was NA’s sharpshooting. The Tigers converted nine of 23 attempts from beyond the arc while Peters Township converted only one of its 14 chances. Overall, the Tigers connected on 57 percent of their shots from the field (28 of 49).
Freshman Lizzie Groetsch buried 7 of her 8 shots and finished with 18 points. Piper Morningstar was 6 of 9. She also fired in 18 points. Cortney Roman (13) and Rachel Martindale (13) also finished in double figures for NA.
“They spread the floor and pass really well,” Kendall said about North Allegheny. “They use the entire floor really well. It’s obvious why they are the No. 1 team in the state. And they’ve got players. All five (starters) can shoot the ball. It would be hard to see any better than that I think.”
Peters Township, though, has one of the best players in the WPIAL in Makenna Marisa. As she did against Bethel Park, the junior exploded for 25 points against NA. She was the lone Indian in double digits.
Isabella Mills, who finished with eight tallies, led in the rebounding department with six boards. Groetsch and Martindale had seven rebounds each for NA.
Despite the disappointment of losing in the title tilt, Kendall had high praise for his players.
“We saw a great effort out of them,” Kendall said.
Kendall expects a great effort from Bethel Park.
“Both teams know each other well even though all the games we have played have been very different. I don’t think we will take them lightly. We will give it our best shot because we know there is no tomorrow.”
For Upper St. Clair (13-10), Mt. Lebanon (13-12), Seton LaSalle (10-14) and Bishop Canevin (20-4) there is no tomorrow either. They, too, all embark on PIAA playoff action this weekend.
USC will face North Allegheny at 6 p.m. March 9 at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic while Lebo travels to Tyrone to face Altoona (20-4) at 6 p.m. Both are rematches. USC lost to NA, 45-26, in the WPIAL quarterfinals while Lebo beat Altoona, 44-36, in an exhibition game on Feb. 8.
While SLS battles Penns Valley (20-5) at 6 p.m. March 9 at Bald Eagle Area, Canevin plays Central Cambria (18-8) at 5 p.m. March 9 at Peters Township.
The Crusaders are coming off winning their third straight WPIAL title. Canevin defeated East Allegheny, 56-52, in the Class 3A final played March 3 at the Petersen Events Center.
In the triumph, Bri Allen (17), Shamyjha Price (14) and Kasey Kaczorowski (12) scored in double figures. Kaczorowski buried four, 3-point field goals. Allen also grabbed 10 rebounds.