CLARION, Pa. – Thanks to wins from North Clarion and Otto-Eldred, District 9 Class 1A girls’ teams went 2-2 Saturday in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs.
(Photo of North Clarion’s Tori Obenrader)
Here is a look at all four games:
NORTH CLARION 57, SEWICKLEY ACADEMY 38
CLARION, Pa. – A 20-0 run to start the game was all North Clarion needed on its way to the first PIAA playoff win in school history with a 57-38 victory over Sewickley Academy in the opening round of the Class 1A girls’ bracket Saturday afternoon at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
“We watched film on them, but unfortunately it wasn’t the team they brought,” North Clarion head coach Terry Dreihaup said. “We realized after the first couple of minutes that we needed to focus on just playing our game. We did that in the first half.”
Sewickley Academy (11-14), the fifth-place team out of the WPIAL, was missing a couple of its better players who were on a trip.
Without them, the Lady Panthers were no match for the District 9 champion She-Wolves (25-2).
Tori Obenrader netted 12 of her game-high 28 points in the first quarter and finished with yet another double-double, her 26th of the season, thanks to 17 rebounds. She added five steals.
Obenrader talked about the victory.
Obenrader had plenty of help with six other North Clarion player scoring and 17 She-Wolves in all playing.
Dreihaup started liberally subbing late in the first quarter and continued to do so throughout the game often allowing the backups to get the experience of playing with Obenrader, one of the top players in school history.
The liberal substitutions helped keep the game closer as did some clutch outside shooting from Sewickley Academy, who hit six 3-pointers in the game, half of its shots, including three from Kendall Lightcap, who led the Lady Panthers with 19 points.
But even with Sewickley Academy heating up from the outside, North Clarion still led 31-9 at halftime and 47-29 after three quarters.
Freshman Abby Gatesman added nine points for North Clarion with Cassie Wagner chipping in with seven points and seven rebounds.
Theresa Wilson contributed 12 points for Sewickley Academy, which only dressed seven players and was in foul trouble early on.
North Clarion will face WPIAL runner-up Cornell, a 61-49 winner over District 10 runner-up Farrell, in the second round Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
NOTES: North Clarion had been to the PIAA playoff on two previous occasions losing last year as the third-place team out of District 9 to District 10 champion Kennedy Catholic, 54-42, and in 1986 as the District 9 runner-up falling to WPIAL third-place finisher Shannock Valley, 35-33 … Obenrader’s 28 points put her over 600 (624) for the season. It’s believed she is only the second player in school history to record at least 600 points in a season joining her cousin, Wendy Obenrader, who did it twice in three years.
NORTH CLARION 57, SEWICKLEY ACADEMY 38
Score by Quarters
Sewickley Acad. 1 8 20 9 – 38
North Clarion 20 11 16 10 – 57
SEWICKLEY ACADEMY – 38
Myra Samuel 1 0-0 2, Kendall Lightcap 5 6-8 19, Theresa Wilson 5 0-0 12, Semi Shetty 1 0-0 3, Alyssa Winter 0 2-2 2, Sachita Rajon 0 0-0 0, Sarah Phillips 0 0-0 0. Toals 12 8-10 38.
NORTH CLARION – 57
Michaela Higgins 2 0-0 5, Cassie Wagner 2 3-5 7, Abby Gatesman 3 2-2 9, Tori Obenrader 10 5-5 28, Ally Carll 1 1-2 3, Gabby Carll 1 0-0 2, Lindsay Zacherl 0 0-0 0, Gabby Schmader 1 1-2 3, Gena Caldwell 0 0-0 0, Kiara Stitt 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Bauer 0 0-0 0, Haley Sherman 0 0-0 0, Cierah Manross 0 0-2 0, Zoe Schill 0 0-0 0, Megan Baumcratz 0 0-0 0, Faythlynn Vanek 0 0-0 0, Haley Bush 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 12-18 57.
Three-pointers: Sewickley Academy 6 (Lightcap 3, Wilson 2, Shetty). North Clarion (Tori Obenrader 3, Higgins, Gatesman).
OTTO-ELDRED 61, WEST GREENE 57
BRADFORD, Pa. – Otto-Eldred overcame a slow start to rally and knock off West Greene, 61-57, for its first-ever PIAA playoff victory in its fourth PIAA playoff appearance Saturday afternoon at Bradford High School.
The Lady Terrors (18-8), the District 9 runner-up, trailed 12-0 right out of the gate to the Lady Pioneers (19-6), the third-place team out of the WPIAL, and were down 23-11 at the end of the first quarter.
But Otto-Eldred righted the ship in the second quarter outscoring West Greene 14-4 to get within two, 27-25, at halftime.
The Lady Pioneers pushed that lead back to five, 40-35, by the end of the third quarter but the Lady Terrors closed the game by outscoring West Green 26-17 in the fourth quarter paced by nine points from Camryn Thomas and eight from Ali Cousins.
“West Greene exploded (from the start),” Otto-Eldred head coach Barb Close said. “They were ready for us. Our heads were turning from their speed. But, we kept our composure and picked away at their lead to crawl back into the game. They tired in the second, and we were able to press back.”
Thomas had a monster game for Otto-Eldred with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Cousins added 15 points and six steals with Tiffany Bair contributing seven points and eight rebounds.
A 10-point second quarter from Thomas was key in helping the Lady Terrors get back into the game, as she scored 10 of Otto-Eldred’s 14 points in the quarter.
McKenna Lampe scored a game-high 34 points for West Greene, including 16 in the first quarter. But Otto-Eldred held her off the scoreboard in the second quarter and limited her to five third-quarter points before she exploded for 13 more in the fourth quarter before fouling out. Kaitlyn Rizor chipped in with eight points.
Otto-Eldred will take on District 10 champion Kennedy Catholic in the second round Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
NOTES: Otto-Eldred’s previous three PIAA appearances were one-game shots. The Lady Terrors, as the D9 third-place team in 1998 lost to Bishop Carroll, 53-32. Again as the third-place team in 2002 it lost to East Forest, which at the time was in District 10, 60-53, and then in 2010 as the fourth-place team in D9 Otto-Eldred fell to Vincentian Academy, 74-37.
OTTO-ELDRED 61, WEST GREENE 57
Score by Quarters
West Greene 23 4 13 17 – 57
Otto-Eldred 11 14 10 26 – 61
WEST GREENE – 57
Kaitlyn Rizor 2 3-4 8, Madison Lampe 1 3-6 5, McKenna Lampe 13 3-3 34, Marissa Rode 2 1-3 5, Savannah Peltit 0 0-0 0, Brianna Goodman 1 1-2 3, Ashley Cumberledge 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 11-18 57.
OTTO-ELDRED – 57
Ali Cousins 4 6-8 15, Lauren Cousins 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Shelander 1 4-6 7, Tiffany Bair 3 0-2 7, Britney Greeley 0 0-2 0, Camryn Thomas 9 8-12 26, Emily Smith 1 0-0 2, Haylee Frederick 1 2-2 4. Totals 19 20-32 61.
Three-pointers: West Greene 6 (McKenna Lampe 5, Rizor). Otto-Eldred 3 (A. Cousins, Shelander, Bair).
BISHOP CARROLL 73, A-C VALLEY 32
EBENSBURG, Pa. – Early foul trouble helped doom A-C Valley’s first-ever PIAA playoff appearance, as the Lady Falcons lost to Bishop Carroll, 73-32, at Central Cambria High School.
Both Ellie Thompson and Kylee Eaton were in deep foul trouble in the second quarter with three fouls apiece before halftime, as A-C Valley (15-9), the third-place team out of District 9, was whistled for 11 first-half infractions compared to four for the District 6 champion Lady Huskies (21-5).
“No excuses, but it did feel a little inconsistent,” A-C Valley head coach Dave Sherman said.
Before the Lady Falcons got into foul trouble they were right there with Bishop Carroll trailing 19-15 after one quarter.
But with Eaton and Thompson in foul trouble, the Lady Huskies were able to extend the lead to 16, 33-17, by halftime outscoring A-C Valley 14-2 in the second quarter.
Things didn’t get any better for the Lady Falcons in the third with Bishop Carroll outscoring them 17-8 to push the lead to 50-25 after three.
Alyssa Martinazzi paced Bishop Carroll with 19 points, Anna Haigh added 16 points, including eight in the second quarter on 6 of 6 from the free-throw line in the quarter, while Adie Divido chipped in 14 points while hitting 4 3-pointers.
Thompson and Annie Viertel each scored nine points for A-C Valley.
Bishop Carroll takes on District 5 champion Berlin Brothersvalley, a winner over St. Joseph’s out of the WPIAL.
BISHOP CARROLL 73, A-C VALLEY 32
Score by Quarters
A-C Valley 15 2 8 7 – 32
Bishop Carroll
A-C VALLEY – 32
Cami McNany 0 1-2 1, Emma Fox 0 0-0 0, Ellie Thompson 3 3-5 9, Madelyn Dittman 0 0-0 0, Annie Viertel 3 0-0 9, Brooke Irwin 1 0-0 2, Olivia Boocks 1 3-4 6, Kylee Eaton 2 1-2 5. Totals 10 8-13 32.
BISHOP CARROLL – 73
Liv Borlie 2 0-0 4, Alyssa Martinazzi 7 0-0 19, Adie Divido 4 2-2 14, Emily Kutskel 1 0-4 2, Anna Haigh 4 7-8 16, Sam Rosenberger 1 3-5 5, Boborski 0 0-0 0, Kate Yahner 0 2-2 2, Emma Gittings 0 0-0 0, Blake 2 0-0 4, M. Yahner 0 0-0 0, Jourdan Williams 2 2-4 7.
Three-pointers: A-C Valley 4 (Viertel 3, Boocks). Bishop Carroll 11 (Martinazzi 5, Divido 4, Haigh, Williams)
WINCHESTER THURSTON 55, NORTHERN POTTER 24
PITTSBURGH – Leading by just two after the first quarter, WPIAL champion Winchester Thurston proceeded to outscored Northern Potter, the fourth-place team out of District 9, 32-6 over the middle two quarters on its way to a 55-24 victory at Baldwin High School.
Thanks in part to four first-quarter points from Mikayla Lewis the underdog Lady Panthers (19-7) trailed by just a bucket, 10-8, at the end of the first quarter but managed just two fields goals over the next 16 minutes while falling behind 42-14 after three quarters.
Ayanna Townsend paced Winchester Thurston (22-1) with 22 points with Gia Thorpe, a transfer from Shaler, adding 19, including nine in the second quarter and eight in the third.
Kali Cowburn led Northern Potter with 10 points with Lewis adding six.
Winchester Thurston will face District 6 runner-up Juniata Valley in the second round Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
WINCHESTER THURSTON 55, NORTHERN POTTER 24
Score by Quarters
Northern Potter 8 3 3 10 – 24
Winchester Thurston 10 16 16 13 – 55
NORTHERN POTTER – 24
Rebecca Morgan 0 0-0 0, Abbi Anderson 1 0-0 3, Tory McCutcheon 0 0-2 0, Gracie Hamilton 1 1-6 3, Jenna Hyde 1 0-2 2, Kalie Cowburn 4 1-4 10, Mikayla Lewis 3 0-0 6, Ashley Kunselman 0 0-0 0, Savannah Herring 0 0-0 0, Lydia Ternes 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 2-13 24.
WINCHESTER THURSTON – 55
Tatiana Barelli 1 0-0 2, Gia Thorpe 8 2-5 19, Kate Chaillet 0 0-0 0, Katie Kunkle 0 0-0 0, Ayanna Townsend 10 2-4 22, Luka Van De Venne 0 0-0 0, Kayla Small 2 2-2 6, Emma Small 3 0-0 6. Totals 24 6-11 55.
Three-pointers: Northern Potter 2 (Anderson, Cowburn). Winchester Thurston 1 (Thorpe).
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