Mt. Lebanon overcomes slow start to beat Seneca Valley
Mt. Lebanon recovered from a disconcerting start to the WPIAL playoffs to defeat Seneca Valley 39-29 and advance in the Class 5A tournament.
The Blue Devils failed to score for the first 9:24 of the first-round game.
“Of course I was concerned but I believe in these kids,” said Lebo head coach Dori Oldaker. “We have dealt with adversity in the past. We have been down before and battled back. I just really felt we were going to pull this out.”
Brooke Collins dug the Blue Devils out of the hole first. She buried a 3-point field goal with under 30 seconds to play in the first half to cut the Raiders’ early lead to 14-10. A bucket and another 3-pointer to start the second half then vaulted Lebo to a 15-14 lead, its first of the game, with 6:27 left in the third quarter.
“Brooke is an unsung hero,” Oldaker said. “A lot of times she doesn’t make the box score in the newspaper but she gives us everything, rebounding and relentless defense. We wish she would look to score more but she is so unselfish.”
While Collins finished with eight points, she and the rest of her teammates deferred to Ashleigh Connor. The junior sealed the deal.
Connor fired in 17 of her game-high 20 points in the second half. She also reeled off 10 of Lebo’s final 14 points during a 5:37 span of the fourth quarter. The contributions enabled Lebo to snap a 25-25 deadlock and open up two of its largest leads, including the 10-point winning margin.
“Ashleigh’s the straw that stirs the drink for us,” Oldaker said.
“She struggled offensively in the first half but once she got her legs under her she got rolling.”
While Reagan Murdoch, who scored 7 points, Anna Streiff and Gina Smith contributed to the offense, Morgan Palmer found a way to contribute. She is Lebo’s lone senior starter.
“She struggled on the floor but I have to give a shout out to her because she kept so involved,” Oldaker said. “Morgan was so into it and very positive.”
With the victory, Lebo improved to 16-3 overall and advanced to a quarterfinal showdown against Bethel Park (15-3).
The Hawks were 64-37 winners against Shaler in their first-round playoff game.
Olivia Westphal exploded for 33 points and Emma Dziezgowski added 11. Sophia Nath came off the bench and fired in seven while Mary Boff provided six additional points. Reagan Milliken, Julia Benlock and Isabella Bomar also contributed to the scoring and the victory.
PT eliminated
Peters Township (6-9) dropped a 55-45 decision to Pine-Richland (8-10) and was eliminated from the Class 6A playoffs.
Peters Township’s Journey Thompson led all scorers with 26 points. Her 15 first-half points enabled the Indians to surge to a 27-21 lead at intermission. However, the Rams outscored PT 21-10 in the third quarter to take a lead they would not relinquish.
SF ousted
South Fayette (14-5) dropped a 52-47 decision to Latrobe and was eliminated from the WPIAL Class 5A tournament.
Maddie Webber, who scored 13 points, and Giuliana Gaetano, who added 12, led the offensive attack for the Lions, who were outscored in the fourth quarter, 16-8.
The Lions opened playoff action by winning a preliminary contest 48-30 over Connellsville.
Mia Webber led the Lions with 14 points and Maddie Webber followed with 12.
The Lions used an 8-0 run to open up a 15-6 lead that stretched to 30-12 with 3:09 to play in the third quarter. Though the Falcons rallied and closed the gap to 33-22, SF went on another tear, this one 9-0, to increase the margin to 20 points.
CV advances
Chartiers Valley (20-3) advanced in the Class 5A playoffs after Plum (7-7) forfeited it’s first-round game because of COVID-19 protocols.
The Mustangs became the seventh team to pull out of the playoffs because of the coronavirus.
The Colts advanced to quarterfinals set for 6 p.m. March 4. CV will host the winner of the game between Oakland Catholic and McKeesport.