Feb 15, 2014 4 min read

McMURRAY – It might not mean much until the disappointment of the season ending abruptly fades, but the West Greene High School girls basketball team does not quit. The Pioneers are a hard-playing and determined bunch.

Those are the reasons why West Greene was the only basketball program in Washington and Greene counties to win a WPIAL playoff game each of the last two seasons. The Pioneers win games with effort, not athleticism.

Quigley Catholic’s Brittany Jackson discovered just how tough the Pioneers are early in the Spartans’ Class A first-round playoff game Saturday afternoon. Jackson received an accidental elbow to the nose from a West Greene player and had to leave the court. As a trainer was putting gauze up her nose to stop the bleeding, Jackson asked to be given a mouthpiece, which she wore for the remainder of the game.

Yes, if you’re playing West Greene, you better be prepared for a physical game.

The only problem for West Greene was the Pioneers simply don’t have the athleticism to match Quigley, and it showed after the game’s first eight minutes.

Quigley’s Kaitlyn Smith and Kristin Jackson combined for 38 points as the Spartans, champions of Section 1, advanced with a 58-17 victory over turnover-prone West Greene at Peters Township High School.

The win sends fifth-seeded Quigley (17-5) into the quarterfinals against fourth-seeded St. Joseph (19-4).

Quigley led 7-4 after one quarter, then outscored West Greene 20-0 in the second quarter. The Pioneers (11-11) had trouble against the Spartans’ full-court press, committing 34 turnovers.

“We’ve won a lot of games the last three years, and we didn’t win with athleticism. In our case, we won by playing hard,” West Greene coach Jordan Watson said.

It was the third consecutive year the Pioneers were eliminated by a parochial school. Two years ago, it was North Catholic. Last season, it was Vincentian Academy.

“At the time, North Catholic was No. 1 in the state. Then, Vincentian was ranked No. 1 in the state last year. We knew Quigley would be really good, but they wouldn’t be better than those two teams. They do have three really good players. From an athletic standpoint, and a size standpoint, it was a tough matchup. We don’t have boys in our school as big as some of their girls.”

Even facing a taller and quicker team, West Greene had some good stretches, especially on defense. The Pioneers played a 1-2-2 zone defense that gave Quigley fits for much of the first half. The Spartans called multiple timeouts to discuss how to attack the zone and produced only four field goals in the game’s first 13 minutes.

West Greene, however, couldn’t take advantage of the Spartans’ missed shots. The Pioneers had only two first-half field goals and committed 19 turnovers.

Quigley led 13-4 with three minutes left in the first half, but stretched the gap to 27-4 by halftime.

“We played hard defensively in the first quarter, then get outscored 20-0 and that can’t happen,” Watson said. “In the first quarter, we battled. We battled in the second half. But we just couldn’t match up with their athleticism.”

Quigley’s quickness turned many of West Greene’s turnovers into layups for Smith, who scored a game-high 21 points, and Jackson, a 1,000-point career scorer who had 17 points and 15 rebounds.

West Greene was led by Alyssa Raber with seven points and 10 rebounds. Madison Raber had a team-high 13 rebounds. The Raber sisters and Emily Courtwright are the only seniors on the roster and have played key roles in West Greene’s girls basketball development from also-ran to playoff regular.

“That senior class leaves a legacy,” Watson said. “They were the first to win a playoff game. West Greene has only had seven teams make the playoffs, and they’ve played on three of those. They’ve averaged double-digit wins and played in five playoff games, which is the most for any players in school history. They’ll be tough to replace.”