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Mt. Lebanon, Chartiers-Houston shake up girls’ basketball

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With upset victories on Jan. 25, Chartiers-Houston and Mt. Lebanon shook up the rankings and standings in girls’ basketball.

While the Buccaneers knocked off the No. 2 team in the state, the Lebo ladies defeated Bethel Park to move into a three-way tie for second place in Section 4-AAAA. Lebo, BP and Peters Township all own 8-3 records in the division. Canon-McMillan, thanks to its win, 62-42, against Baldwin, sits in first place with a 9-2 mark.

The Bucs’ 41-36 win against Bishop Canevin proved impressive as they played without Alexa Williamson. Averaging 19 points per game, she is out for the season due to an injury. “Losing Alexa (Williamson) was really bad for us,” explained C-H head coach Laura Montecalvo.

However, Jala Walker and Cassidy Stollar picked up the slack. Walker fired in 16 points and Stollar pitched in with 11 tallies.

“Jala has done such a good job,” said Montecalvo. “The kid I’m most proud of is Cassidy Stollar. She hit some really big shots for us.”

Montecalvo was equally proud of her defense as they held sharpshooter Erin Joyce to three points and leading scorer Gina Vallecorsa to eight markers. Brionna Allen led the Crusaders with 13 points.

“We knew Joyce is a great shooter and we stayed in her face,” Montecalvo said. “We didn’t let her touch the ball. We threw a chaotic defense at them and we didn’t let them get into their offense.

While the loss snapped a 15-game winning streak for the Crusaders, they still lead Section 3-AA with a 9-1 mark. Overall, they are 15-2. With the win, C-H improved to 6-3 in the league, good for third place behind Canevin and Seton-La Salle (7-1). Overall, the Bucs are 13-5.

“We’ve been a little inconsistent but we’re getting there,” said Montecalvo. “This is a win that helps our confidence.”

Back-to-back wins against Bethel Park and Peters Township boosted Lebo’s confidence. After upsetting the Indians, 60-50, on the road, the Blue Devils upended the Hawks, 44-38, on their home court. In the contest, Lebo overcame a 13-2 first-quarter deficit. The Blue Devils narrowed the gap, 20-19, by halftime before opening up a 36-25 advantage after three quarters.

Kate Sramac led the uprising against Bethel Park, scoring a game-high 16 points. She had 11 markers against Peters. Maura Wallace with 25 points topped all scorers against the Indians.

Both Lebo and Bethel Park have key clashes coming up against Canon-McMillan. The Blue Devils visit Canonsburg Jan. 28 before closing out their league schedule at West Allegheny (Feb. 1) and at home against Upper St. Clair (Feb. 4). Bethel Park, which hosts Moon Jan. 28, visits Canon-McMillan for a 6 p.m. tipoff Feb. 2 and close section play entertaining Baldwin Feb. 4.

In Canon-Mac’s win against Baldwin, Cheyenne Trest exploded for 33 points. She had 18 in a previous win, 66-33, against Moon.

Meanwhile, Peters Township rebounded from its loss to Lebo, beating Moon, 67-30. Madison Kerr fired in 22 points against the Tigers. In the loss to Lebo, Kerr finished with 14 points while Allyssa Konopka and Makenna Marisa supplied 12 and 11 markers, respectively.

In other girls’ action Monday night, Keystone Oaks toppled McGuffey, 69-44. Mariah Vargas and Kristy Lippert each scored 14 points for the Golden Eagles (5-5, 8-10).

Seton-La Salle defeated Steel Valley, 60-39. Shaunay Edmonds led with 21 tallies.

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