BP girls beat Peters
There was no magic formula for Bethel Park. In facing Peters Township for the fourth time this basketball season, the Lady Hawks simply executed.
By doing so, they ruined the Lady Indians championship season, one that included three previous victories against their rival. With a 44-35 victory on March 9 at Canon-McMillan High School, Bethel Park advanced in the PIAA Class 6A girls’ basketball playoffs while Peters Township ended its season at 21-5 overall.
“It may not matter to them that much right now,” said PT floor boss Bert Kendall, “but they accomplished a lot. We had a good year. Section champions in the toughest section in the state,” he noted. “A WPIAL final,” he continued. “They have plenty to be proud of.”
The Indians just could not be pleased with their finish. A strong defensive strategy employed by the Hawks evoked one of the team’s less productive outings. They were held to its smallest offensive output of the year.
“They played very good defense,” Kendall said. “No doubt, they are familiar with us and are very well coached. They know what we do. They had a plan. They stuck to it and they executed.”
Jonna Burke employed an array of defenses to slow the Indians down, particularly the high-scoring Makenna Marisa. She dropped in 25 in the team’s last meeting in the WPIAL semifinals, a 55-39 triumph for the Indians. This time, Marisa was limited to 17 points. Olivia Ziegler followed with 15 tallies.
“We tried some different defense and we tried to control the tempo,” said Burke. “We didn’t want them to run up and down the court against us. As good and as athletic as they are and with a player like Makenna, we had to take advantage of what we do well and our opportunities. We needed to slow them down and work the ball.”
The Hawks worked well when the ball was in Maria Cerro’s hands. The junior point guard scored a game-high 23 points.
“Maria got to the hoop, particularly in the second half, and that changed things for us and enabled us to breath.” Burke said. “It gave us some cushion against their high-pressured offense.”
Olivia Westphal complimented Cerro in the backcourt. She tallied seven points, all in the first half as the Hawks parlayed an 11-4 first-frame edge into a 30-24 advantage heading into the final quarter. The Hawks sealed the victory with a 14-for-20 showing from the charity stripe. The Indians were 5 of 10 from the line.
With the win, BP advanced to play State College on March 13 in the second round of the PIAA playoffs. The Hawks was one of two survivors in the state playoffs along with Bishop Canevin, a 62-57 winner over Central Cambria in Class AAA. Shamyjha Price (22), Brionna Allen (13) and Gillan Gustine (10) led the Crusaders.
Upper St. Clair (13-11), Mt. Lebanon (13-13), Chartiers Valley (18-8) and Seton-La Salle (10-15) were eliminated from the state playoffs in first-round action.
The Panthers succumbed to undefeated North Allegheny, 46-21. Liv McClelland led USC with five tallies.
Lebo, which had beaten the Mountain Lions during the regular season, lost to Altoona, 54-33. Haley Sabol fired in 12 points for the Blue Devils.
SLS lost to Penns Valley, 54-37. Layni Ziegler led the Rebels with 17 tallies.
CV fell behind, 19-9, in the second stanza then lost starting point guard Megan McConnell to an ankle injury in the third quarter. That double whammy led to the Colts’ demise, 57-52, against Harbor Creek in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. For the Colts, sisters Lauren and Mackenzie Wagner led the way with 16 and 10 points respectively.