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C-H can’t dwell on loss to Burrell

4 min read

CRANBERRY TWP. – The game plan was set for Chartiers-Houston’s girls basketball team: limit Burrell’s dominant duo of senior guard Sydney Bordonaro and junior Natalie Myers by controlling the baseline to prevent easy baskets.

The Bucs used a combination of zone, press and trap defenses with mixed results, but it was a player off Chartiers-Houston head coach Laura Montecalvo’s radar that ended the team’s WPIAL Class AA playoff run.

Burrell sophomore guard Eliza Oswalt scored a game-high 18 points, while Myers and Bordonaro combined for 30 points, to defeat Chartiers-Houston, 66-38, in a quarterfinal game at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School Friday night.

Despite the loss, Chartiers-Houston’s season is not over. The 10th-seeded Bucs (16-8) will face Greensburg Central Catholic, which lost to Bishop Canevin in another quarterfinal game, Monday at Canon-McMillan in a consolation-round game. Tip-off will be 6:30 p.m.

Burrell (21-3) advances to the semifinals to face the Crusaders Tuesday.

“Our rotations were out of whack, and we also didn’t plan for (Oswalt) to have 18 points,” Montecalvo said. “We prepared strong for Myers and Bordonaro. We thought that if we could control them somewhat, then we’d have a good shot to win this basketball game. A kid steps up like that and it’s an enormous credit to her.”

Myers had 16 points and Bordonaro, a Pepperdine recruit, had 14 for Burrell.

Myers’ impact was not limited to the scoring column. The 6-0 forward grabbed 16 rebounds to help Burrell outrebound Chartiers-Houston, 31-20. It was an area of the game Chartiers-Houston believed it could control, yet the Youngstown State recruit grabbed 11 in the first half to limit the Bucs’ second chances.

Myers also forced C-H sophomore forward Jala Youngblood into foul trouble and made seven of eight free throws. With Youngblood in foul trouble, Alexa Williamson was tasked with stopping Myers.

Williamson, who finished with a team-high 17 points, struggled to box out Myers. Williamson, a freshman, was also held to six first-half points while being double-teamed.

The Bucs’ young lineup, which features three freshmen, two sophomores and one senior, including two freshmen guards, forced the ball inside to Williamson. The result was 19 turnovers.

“I know (Williamson) is big and she is good, but Natalie is experienced,” Burrell head coach Meghan Ziemianski said. “You could tell by her work ethic to get 16 rebounds. She just controls the boards”

Chartiers-Houston had the first basket of the game on senior Jalynn Myers’ putback, but Burrell fired back with 15 unanswered points and led 15-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Burrell then started the second quarter with a 16-5 run behind Myers, who scored 14 first-half points. C-H had 10 first-half turnovers and could not find open looks against Burrell’s defense.

C-H also looked lost defensively as Burrell picked up points in transition and made its 34-13 halftime lead look easy. It was a stark contrast from the energy the Bucs showed in their first-round win over Mohawk.

“They really outrebounded us tonight and that’s where we kind of thought we’d be strong,” Montecalvo said. “Our kids came out and looked a little nervous. That played a role tonight. We really didn’t play like that Tuesday night (against Mohawk).”

Chartiers-Houston opened the second half using pressure defense, but it did not faze Burrell. Oswalt hit three three-pointers in the second half and scored 15 points in the final 16 minutes. Burrell also held C-H to seven third-quarter points.

“She was feeling it. She had the green light,” Ziemianski said. “She always has it. You heard the whole gym. She was open in the corner and everyone kept yelling, ‘shoot it!'”

Though C-H’s time in the WPIAL playoffs is over, it has a second chance with the new consolation tournament to determine the fifth, sixth and seventh Class AA team to enter the PIAA playoffs.

“It’s a bad loss, but we still have a chance to make the state playoffs, so I’m going to try to not dwell on this for too long and we’re going to get ready for Monday,” Montecalvo said.

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