Alazia Greaves had 8 points in the win for Moniteau. Photo by Mike Schnelle.
By Shane Lux
CLARION, Pa. – Moniteau used a strong fourth quarter to down Redbank, 40-33, in District 9 Class AA Girls’ Semifinals Tuesday night at Clarion High School.
Trailing by one, 24-23, at the end of the third quarter, Moniteau used a 17-9 fourth quarter to punch its ticket to the Double A final against rival Karns City.
Emma Bair and Kristina DeMatteis did the heavy lifting for the Lady Warriors.
Bair finished with 10 points, six rebounds, four blocks, three assists and a steal, while DeMatteis added 11 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks, three steals and an assist.
That countered a huge game by Redbank senior Brooke Hinderliter, who had a double-double for the Lady Bulldogs with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while adding two assists, two steals and a block. Hinderliter fell just shy of becoming the sixth player in District 9 history with 2,000 career points ending her four-year career with 1,997.
DeMatteis, who was held without a field goal in the first half, came to life in the fourth quarter scoring four of her five field goals on layups in the quarter to spark an 8-0 run by Moniteau after Hinderliter had hit a 3-pointer to put Redbank up three, 31-28.
That run gave the Lady Warriors a 36-31 lead.
Becca Dougherty, who added six points and seven rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs, got Redbank Valley back within three, 36-33, with a putback with 1:30 remaining, but Bair hit a clutch jump shot for Moniteau to push the lead back to five, 38-33.
Sara Hull, who had seven points and nine boards, then sealed the win with a pair of free throws in the closing seconds.
The game started out slow with Moniteau holding a 7-4 lead at the end of the first quarter but Redbank Valley taking a 14-12 halftime lead with neither team shooting the ball well in the opening half.
Both teams continued to slow the pace of the game down in the second half, as the Lady Bulldogs carried a one point lead 24-23 into what ended up a furious fourth quarter.
Moniteau will try and avenge two earlier losses to Karns City, 46-31 and
43-38, when the teams meet in Saturday’s District 9 title game at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym. A time for that game hasn’t been announced yet.
GAME NOTES – The win earns Moniteau a berth in the PIAA playoffs for the first time since 2012 … The Lady Warriors are looking for their first D9 title since 2001.
MONITEAU 40, REDBANK VALLEY 33
Score by Quarters
Redbank 4 10 10 9 – 33
Moniteau 7 5 11 17 – 40
REDBANK VALLEY – 33
Lexi Holt 1-2 0-0 2, Sam Landers 1-3 0-1 2, Brooke Hinderliter 10-16 3-8 23, Macy King 0-4 0-0 0, Becca Dougherty 3-8 0-0 6, Kera Fink 0-2 0-0 0, Alyssa Wiant 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-36 3-9 33.
MONITEAU – 40
Sara Hull 2-11 3-6 7, Emma Bair 5-11 0-0 10, Alazia Greaves 3-13 0-0 8, Kara Mental 1-2 0-0 2, Kristina DeMatteis 5-10 1-4 11, Kennedy DeMatteis 1-1 0-0 2, Kelsey Ripley 0-0 0-0 0, Cambria Campbell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 4-10 40.
THREE-POINTERS – Moniteau 2 (Greaves 2).
