Upper St. Clair prepares for PIAA playoff run
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Kate Robbins, Mia Brown and Paige Dellicarri watch somberly as North Allegheny is awarded the WPIAL trophy. For the third year in a row, Upper St. Clair lost its shot at the championship, falling to the Tigers, 71-45, in the Class 6A final played March 3 at the Petersen Events Center.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Rylee Kalocay makes her move to the hoop during Upper St. Clair’s 71-45 loss to North Allegheny. In the WPIAL Class 6A championship contest, Kalocay scored a team-high 24 points, 21 in the second half.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Kim Seaver looks for a passing option while being double-team by North Allegheny defenders, including Lydia Betz (15), during WPIAL Class 6A championship action. Despite 10 points from Seaver, Upper St. Clair dropped a 71-45 decision to the Tigers.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Paige Dellicarri drives passed Kellie McConnell during WPIAL Class 6A action.
PITTSBURGH — Pete Serio wanted one game to prepare his Upper St. Clair girls basketball team for battle after his point guard, Sam Prunzik, broke her left arm in two places.
Unfortunately, it was the WPIAL championship contest, and on March 3, the Panthers succumbed to North Allegheny, 71-45, in the Class 6A game at the Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus.
“Take nothing away from NA. They played great. Shot the ball well. I applaud them,” said Serio.
“Would I have rather have had Sam, darn right I would have because I think the mental part of the game was so much more important than people can understand,” he added.
“I wished we had a scrimmage or another game before we had to play this one without having (Sam) on the floor with us.”
Serio noted that Prunzik had been USC’s point guard for four years. During that span, the Panthers racked up a 70-21 record with three WPIAL championship appearances and four PIAA state qualifications.
“The ball has been in her hands,” Serio said. “The other kids did very well, and I hope they know that, but the mental part of the game was evident on the court whether or not they realized that, but I expect us to do better at states. I really do,” he said.
NA head coach Spencer Stefko agreed as the PIAA tournament could pit the teams against each other for the biggest prize, a state championship.
PIAA games commenced March 10 with the Panthers (21-3) hosting McDowell (19-6) and the Tigers (20-5) entertaining Manheim Township (17-10). Mt. Lebanon (17-8) was also scheduled to travel to Altoona to play the Mountain Lions (17-9).
“They are going to be a tough out in the state playoffs as they have more time to regroup,” Stefko said. “They were dealt a tough hand.
“The nature of sports is we all have to compete and try to win but you can’t say enough about Sam and what she means to those guys and how respected she is. USC was hit with an incredibly tangible loss because she was their team leader, their fulcrum.
“We have done battle with those kids since they were freshmen and mark my words they are not done by a long shot. They’ve got a run in the state tournament coming and if we are fortunate enough to work our way back, we know we have some things to clean up if we compete against them the next time.”
NA does not have to tidy up its shooting. The Tigers captured their sixth title overall, and fifth in the past eight years, because they converted nearly 50 percent of their field goals (22-for-45) and 36.8 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. They pulled away with a 14-2 run, burying three 3-pointers in the process, to take the lead, 32-17, by halftime. The margin swelled to 26 points with 1:20 to play in the fourth quarter.
Jasmine Timmerson, a Pitt recruit, led the attack with 30 points and six rebounds. Lydia Betz and Kellie McConnell followed with 17 and 11 points, respectively.
“They shot the ball well. Even from the college line they were making shots,” said Serio.
Of the second-quarter surge he added, “They hit shots and we didn’t. The momentum swung at that point and that was a momentum killer for us.”
Rylee Kalocay and Kate Robbins did there part in trying to keep the Panthers in the game.
A Marist recruit and 1,000-point scorer, Robbins finished with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
A sophomore, Kalocay fired in 21 of her team-high 24 points in the second half. She buried five, 3-pointers, four in the final 16 minutes.
Freshman Ryan Prunzik finished with five points while Paige Dellicarri and Meredith Huzjak provided three points each in the loss.
“Kate and Rylee did a great job knowing it was on them and Ryan has some skill,” Serio noted. “For a freshman, who hasn’t played many minutes in a lot of big games, she did a wonderful job.
Ultimately, NA did the better job.
“I will tell you that (Sam) is not why we lost,” Serio stressed. “We just did not play well. NA played really well. We have to face facts and go back to work because we have some season left.
Robbins agreed. “We can be proud of what we have been able to accomplish these four years. Of course, not getting the gold stings a lit but we have to keep moving forward. We are going to make the best of what we have left.”