ALTOONA — The Williamsburg Lady Blue Pirates stuck to the script on Tuesday night against St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy and it got them to the PIAA 1A girls’ basketball finals.
Taking the ball inside, hounding SJCA all-star guard Naomi Crispin and battling on the boards paid off as Williamsburg slowly pulled away from the WolfPack in a 60-41 victory at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
Down by two points at the end of the first quarter, Williamsburg rallied to take a 28-23 halftime lead that they would steadily increase throughout the second half.
It was 41-31 heading into the final eight minutes, and then the Pirates, under urgent pressure from SJCA, made 13-of-14 foul shots in the last six minutes to cement the victory.
For St. Joseph’s, it was anything but a typical night. The WolfPack relied on its outside shooters all season, but with heavy pressure on Crispin, the 3-pointers were not falling.
Still only down by five points at the half, SJCA saw Williamsburg hold Crispin without a point in the quarter and take a 10-point lead on a basket by Levada Gorsuch and a foul shot by Brynn Lower.
A jump shot by Lower to begin the fourth quarter extended the Pirates’ lead to 12, 43-31, and they were able to keep Saint Joseph’s at bay from there by holding the ball and forcing SJCA to foul.
Crispin did get back in form down the stretch — she had 10 points in the fourth quarter—but Williamsburg was dead-on from the line and SJCA could not close the gap.
In the final four minutes, Williamsburg got a basket from Regan Prough, and 10 consecutive converted foul shots.
The loss for SJCA ended its season with a final record of 27-4, and it was also the last high school contest for seniors Crispin, Jacee Cunningham, Aubrey Yartz and Lauren Himes.
Williamsburg, now 26-5, will advance to the PIAA final against either 1-1 Delaware County Christian or 4-1 Our Lady of Lourdes Regional on March 20 in Hershey.
