Chartiers Valley advances to PIAA finals in girls basketball
Fire and desire fueled Chartiers Valley as the Colts defeated McKeesport, 59-50, in a PIAA Class 5A semifinal girls basketball game played March 19 at the AHN Arena in Peters Township High School.
The victory earned the Colts a trip to Hershey to compete in their third state championship game in four years.
“We didn’t want our season to end on a bad note,” said Hallie Cowan. “We wanted to go to the state championship our senior year.”
Cowan’s twin sister agreed. “We are all seniors,” Helene said of CV’s starting lineup. “We couldn’t have this be our last game and end it on a loss.”
After a sluggish first quarter, the Colts picked up their intensity level, particularly on defense. They outscored the Tigers, 17-5, in a pivotal second stanza, holding them to one field goal, before breaking open the game in the second half.
“The second quarter was the difference,” said CV coach Tim McConnell. “I told them at halftime that we had the lead because we came out and played defense and showed great desire.
“These girls were excited about this game. They did not want their season to end here. With the intensity they displayed, I could see they wanted to continue playing.”
Perri Page demonstrated the passion in the first half. A Columbia recruit, Page pumped in eight of her 10 points in the first half until the Cowan sisters and Aislin Malcolm continued the onslaught, dominating from the outside in the second half.
The Colts stretched a 30-21 halftime advantage to as much as 45-31 on their outside shooting.
Malcolm buried a 3-pointer to start the second-half scoring. The Pitt recruit finished with a game-high 22 points
Hallie Cowan buried three treys in the third quarter. She finished with 15 points.
“When Hallie hit that one corner shot I said if it goes in, then it’s a dagger,” McConnell said. “It propelled us to keep the lead and be able to play for a state title.”
Chartiers Valley (28-2) will play Cardinal O’Hara (15-15) in the Class 5A final set for 5 p.m. Friday, March 25 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
The Colts, who are 110-6 over the past four years, lost to O’Hara in last year’s final, 51-27.
“We are excited to be in the state finals,” said Hallie Cowan.
“We feel we put our hearts into this (semifinal) game and it paid off,” added Helene Cowan. “It feels good but now we want to get our revenge because last year didn’t end like we wanted it to. If we come ready to play, it will be a good outcome for us.”
Mt. Lebanon defeated Central Dauphin, 41-35, in a PIAA Class 6A girls’ basketball semifinal game played March 18 at Altoona.
With the win, the Blue Devils advanced to the state finals to be played at 5 p.m. March 26 at the Giant Center in Hershey. Lebo (27-1) will battle Plymouth-Whitmarsh (29-0) for the title.
Ashleigh Connor led the offensive attack. She fired in 27 points for the Blue Devils. She tossed in 17 in the first half as Lebo constructed as much as an 18-8 advantage before settling into a 21-16 led at intermission. Connor also scored six points during a critical stretch in the second half as Central Dauphin cut the margin to three points.
Brooke Collins added nine tallies.
Marlie Dickerson led Central Dauphin with 18 points. The Niagara recruit scored 10 of her points in the third quarter. Her 3-point play tied the game at 28-28.
Lebo is competing in its sixth state final but the first since 2011. The Blue Devils won PIAA championships from 2009-2011.