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WPIAL title in hand, Mt. Lebanon begins PIAA quest

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 5 min read
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Bella Bilec (20), Tori Petko and Payton Collins (25) enthusiastically cheer on their teammates as the seconds wan during Mt. Lebanon's triumph over Upper St. Clair, 55-44, in the WPIAL championship game.

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Ashleigh Connor (center) gains possession of a rebound against Kate Robbins (42) and Rylee Kalocay (3) during WPIAL championship basketball action. Connor scored 23 points to lead Mt. Lebanon to victory, 55-44, against Upper St. Clair.

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Molly James is comforted by a teammate after Upper St. Clair's 55-44 loss to Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL finals. It was the second straight loss for the Panthers in a championship game and James is in her final season as she is a senior.

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Reagan Murdoch pushes her way past Molly James during WPIAL Class 6A championship basketball action.

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Gina Smith keeps the ball away from Upper St. Clair defenders Paige Dellicarri and Molly James during WPIAL championship basketball action.

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Rylee Kalocay is comforted by a teammate after Upper St. Clair's 55-44 loss to Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A finals.

Mt. Lebanon (23-1) crested one hill. Now the Blue Devils are climbing another mountain.

After capturing the WPIAL title by virtue of a 55-44 victory against Upper St. Clair, the Blue Devils commenced their quest for a PIAA championship against Red Lion.

“It’s a clean slate,” said Ashleigh Connor. “We just have to start back from the bottom. In states, it’s win or go home.”

It has been 10 years since Lebo has gone home with a championship. The Blue Devils won three WPIAL and PIAA titles from 2009-12.

On March 5, the Blue Devils went home with their fourth district trophy under head coach Dori Oldaker.

“It’s been worth the wait and I couldn’t be more proud of my players because of their tenacity, intensity and courage,” Oldaker said.

“When the gentleman handing out the medals asked me how many it was for me, I said I don’t know but I know that this is the sweetest. I told the girls to savor the day and these moments because they don’t come along that often. It’s so hard to get here, so enjoy it.”

Nobody enjoyed their moment in the sun more than Oldaker’s seniors. Connor fired in a game-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Blue Devils avenged their only loss this season. They had lost, 58-53, on Feb. 10 to the Panthers in the regular-season finale.

“It definitely made it sweeter because the win came against USC. The rivalry (between us) is more intense than you can imagine. Plus, they are a good team.”

“You want to play a good team (like them) in these sorts of games,” added Brooke Collins.

A senior, Collins and her sister, Payton, kept Lebo in the contest, particularly during a sluggish first half to turn a 8-3 deficit into an 18-15 halftime advantage. The Collins sisters finished with nine points each. Brooke grabbed seven rebounds, dished up two assists and had four steals.

“The entire season my coach has screamed at me to shoot and I took that into consideration especially when things weren’t going well and shots weren’t falling. ‘Who else but me?’ I thought so if I am going to do it at any point then why not then?” Collins said.

Reagan Murdoch also stepped up. An American University lacrosse recruit, she finally got her gold medal after losing her shot last spring.

“Crazy good,” she said the title felt. “I lost one from lacrosse so I wasn’t sure I could have handled it if I lost another. So this is even better than I could imagine.”

Heading into the WPIAL final Oldaker imagined USC had the edge because the Panthers were district runners-up.

“That worried me because USC was here last year and they were more comfortable with that situation. We had to get through those jelly legs against a tough, talented team.

“We kept fighting and fighting. We didn’t give up. We trusted each other and the process.”

Lebo received contributions from multiple players. Gina Smith contributed five points and four rebounds. Anna Streiff, Victoria Pettko and Ava Dziubek provided quality minutes not to mention critical points, assists, steals and rebounds.

“It’s always a team effort,” said Collins. “We are better together as one than we are one separately.”

For USC, Kate Robbins and Molly James dominated the boards, pulling down 13 and 10 rebounds respectively. Mia Brown and Rylee Kalocay controlled the offensive attack, generating 13 tallies each. James and Robbins both had six points.

USC point guard Samantha Prunzik dished up five assists.

For the Panthers it was their second straight loss in a WPIAL final. Last year, USC dropped a 70-36 decision to North Allegheny.

“There is no satisfaction in getting here and losing,” said USC coach Pete Serio.

He acknowledged that last year’s silver medal was rewarding because the Panthers were so young. This year, they were a seasoned team with many veteran starters.

“It’s not that it hurts any more than last year,” Serio said. “It’s just that it’s a little more disappointing.

After he told his players to keep their heads up and assured them that they had nothing to be ashamed about, Serio grew philosophical and showed his side as an educator.

“This is part of growing up. A life lesson that sometimes things don’t work out for you but you need to grow from it. I told them to try and remember what it feels like and use that as motivation going forward.

“I believe in these kids. I have all the faith in the world in them.”

Mt. Lebanon (24-1) and Bethel Park (13-10) won their first-round PIAA Class 6A playoff games.

While the Blue Devils easily handled Red Lion, 50-19, the Black Hawks dispatched Mifflin County, 63-52.

Ashleigh Connor and Payton Collins led Lebo with 18 and 11 tallies.

Emma Dziezgowski fired in 19 markers and Mary Boff pitched in 16 tallies to pace the Black Hawks.

The win set up a second-round showdown between the two section rivals. Lebo had beaten BP twice during the regular season and in the WPIAL semifinals.

Upper St. Clair (20-6) was unable to rebound from its WPIAL championship loss and succumbed to Central York, 46-43, in its first-round PIAA playoff game.

Central York, which was the fifth-place team out of District 3, improved to 22-6 overall.

For the Panthers, Rylee Kalocay (17) and Mia Brown (14) finished in double digits.

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