PIAA Championships Wrap Up at BJC

Story by Greg Cohen and Shawn Myrick. Photos by Nathan A. Smith.

—————————–

Once a year in late Mach, 16 high school basketball teams gather at the Bryce Jordan Center to decide the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association basketball championships.

The games are the pinnacle of the high school season for the boys and girls of each program, and they certainly did not disappoint.

In front of loud crowds consisting of their schools most dedicated fans, friends and family, the athletes have four quarters to win what for some is the biggest game they will ever play in.

By each games’ end, two very different spirits overtake the BJC floor. The victors, joyous in celebration as the buzzer sounds, and the losers, overcome with disappointment as hope of a championship have finally dwindled away.

For the weekend’s final game and premier match up, the fans packing the sidelines in the lower bowl of the BJC witnessed a fantastic back-and-forth game in the boys’ AAAA championship.

Read further for briefs of each of the weekend’s eight games. For complete coverage of the entire tournament, check out The Patriot News’ High School Sports page.

AA Girls’ Final – (W) Villa Maria Academy (28-2)  vs. York Catholic (28-4) 52-44

An early 20 point lead for Villa Maria academy proved just enough to hold back a late run by York Catholic early Friday.

The Victors opened the game by scoring six straight shots, while the Fighting Irish missed their first seven.

York Catholic was able to rally late to bring the score to 45-44 with 2:32 left, but was unable to slow down Notre Dame recruit Kayla McBride. The guard scored 14 of Villa’s 17 points in the final quarter to lead her team to a 52-44 victory.

A Boys’ Final – (W) Sewickley Academy (27-2) vs. Reading Central Catholic (30-2) 43-35

Despite battling a stomach sickness Tom Droney helped lead Sewickley Academy to a 43-35 victory over Reading Central Catholic Friday.

Sewickley Tyler Palmer scored 15 points through 3-pointers. A third quarter three by Palmer helped the Panthers pull away.

Panther players Carrington Mobley and Droney scored 10 and 11 respectively.

Central took a major hit when junior guard Marcus Dawkins fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

AAAA Girls’ Final- (W) Mt. Lebanon (29-2) vs. Archbishop Ryan (22-8) 70-43

Lead by junior Madison Cable, Mt. Lebanon dominated Archbishop on its way to a repeat PIAA Class AAAA girls’ basketball championship Friday.

Cable scored a career-high 30 points, shooting 13-for-19. The junior had five assists and nine rebounds.

Cable scored the first seven points to open up the first three minutes of the game. Ten turnovers in the third quarter by the ragdolls helped the Blue Devils score 13 points on their way to a 70-43 victory.

AAA Boys’ Final – (W) Neumann-Goretti (30-1) vs. Chartiers Valley (29-2) 65-63

A missed three in the final seconds by Chartiers Valley’s T.J. Mitchell meant a 65-63 victory for Neummann-Goretti.

Regardless, Mitchell had a strong night, scoring 32 points while grabbing 12 rebounds.

Tony Chennault and Danny Stewart of Neumann-Goretti both had double-doubles. Chennault had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Stewart had 17 points and 12 rebounds

Wayne Capers and Steve Burda of Chartiers Valley had 14 and 10 points respectively.

A Girls’ Final – (W) Bishop Guilfoyle (30-0) vs. Northern Cambria (24-6) 49-29

In the two schools’ third meeting of the season, Northern Cambria couldn’t muster up the offense to stick with Bishop Guilfoyle as the Marauders completed an undefeated season and captured their second consecutive PIAA Class A girls’ basketball title and third in four years.

Senior Alli Williams, who scored 16 points and added 14 rebounds, led the Marauders. She scored 10 of her 16 points in the first half. Freshman guard Halee Adams also scored 11 points and pulled down 8 rebounds for the Marauders.

Northern Cambria opened the game struggling to make field goals and found themselves down 14 points a mere 10 minutes into the game.

AA Boys’ Final – (W) South Fayette (24-5) vs. Strawberry Mansion (28-2) 49-47

South Fayette’s Tyler Henry wasn’t the games top scorer, but he certainly nailed its biggest points.

Henry’s field goal in the final minute of the game and subsequent defensive stop helped the Lions upset favored Strawberry Mansion, which dropped its second state title game in three years.

The Lions were led in scoring by Mike Lamberti and Patrick Zedreck, who both finished with 17 points.

Devonte “D.J.” Newbill scored 15 points and Jamal Jones added a double-double (10 points, 19 rebounds) for Mansion in what turned out to be a very physical matchup that featured 36 fouls, nine lead changes, 13 ties.

AAA Girls’ Final – (W) Archbishop Wood (26-5) vs. Indiana (25-3) 49-39

A one point, an Archbishop Wood lead at the start of the fourth quarter built into a comfortable 10 point win and a victory in the PIAA Class AAA girls’ final.

Wood players Christine Verrelle, Stephanie Keyes, and Samantha Greenfield all finished in double-digits, scoring 16, 11, and 10 points respectively. Verrelle also had a team-high nine rebound.

Indiana was led by guards Tiara Stossel (17 points) and Leslie Stapleton (13 points).

AAAA Boys’ Final – (W) Plymouth-Whitemarsh (30-2) vs. Penn Wood (27-4) 58-51

Forward C.J. Aiken and guard Whis Grant led the team in a second half comeback as the duo led Plymouth-Whitemarsh to the Boys’ PIAA Class AAAA title in the final game of the weekend.

Aiken and Grant finished with 19 and 17 points respectively as Whitemarsh overcame a slow start and a four-point halftime deficit to clinch the title.

Penn Wood, which had three players finish in double digits, allowed Whitemarsh to close the gap in the third quarter and seemingly had no answers to Aiken and Grant in the fourth.