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EF sprints its way past McGuffey

5 min read
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CANONSBURG – McGuffey’s girls basketball team rarely finds an opponent that can match its quickness. The Highlanders have worn down opposition by thriving in transition and driving to the basket.

They met their match Monday night at Canon-McMillan High School.

Sixth-seeded Elizabeth Forward ran up and down the floor, sinking shots, executing in transition and made McGuffey’s offense look like it was operating in slow-motion.

Warriors senior guard Abigail Sporio scored a team-high 22 points and was one of three EF players to score in double figures in a 67-51 win over McGuffey in a WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal game.

Elizabeth Forward (19-5) advances to the semifinals to face South Fayette Wednesday at a site and time to be determined. The Highlanders (18-7) have a shot at redemption tonight when they face No. 15 South Park in a PIAA playback game at North Hills High School (6:30 p.m.)

With a victory, McGuffey will clinch a spot in the PIAA playoffs. With a loss, the Highlanders will face the loser of the other playback game between Trinity and Beaver Thursday to determine the WPIAL’s seventh entry in the state playoffs.

McGuffey shot just 40 percent from the field, including 6 of 17 from three-point range. Senior forward Sammie Weiss scored 22 points. Senior guard Rachel Czulewicz had just four points but scored her 1,000th career point in the fourth quarter.

Though Czulewicz’s accomplishment was welcomed by a raucous applause and fans holding up signs reading, “1,000,” McGuffey fans did not have much else to cheer about.

“When we play basketball, we are typically the faster team,” McGuffey head coach Amanda Burchett said. “To find a team that is equally as quick, hasn’t really happened this season, except for (EF). We didn’t finish our shots and we didn’t get to the basket. Sporio is just as fast as Rachel, and Rachel is one of the fastest people I’ve ever seen play basketball. We weren’t used to that. It threw things off a bit, but it wasn’t anything we didn’t expect.”

Elizabeth Forward led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter and led, 56-43, heading to the final eight minutes, McGuffey senior forward Lauren Crimm started the fourth quarter with a lay-up and an uncontested three-pointer to draw the Highlanders to within eight points.

The Highlanders trailed, 56-49, after Czulewicz’s 1,000th career point came on a free throw with 5:30 remaining, but the Warriors finished the game on an 11-2 run, including 7 of 11 from the free throw line to seal the win.

In the two teams’ first meeting in the regular-season finale, McGuffey made 28 free throws to make the difference in an 87-78 victory. This time, Elizabeth Forward made 13 and limited the Highlanders to seven attempts at the line.

“The first time we played them, they had 28 of their points on foule shots, so obviously we didn’t want to foul as much,” EF head coach Krystal Gibbs said. “My kids are fighters. We focused on starting quick because that was a weakness. We finally got that eye of the tiger the past few games.”

Elizabeth Forward started the game on a 12-4 run, but the Highlanders closed out the quarter strong by driving to the basket. Weiss scored eight first-quarter points, while Czulewicz’s three-point play tied the game, 14-14.

McGuffey led 18-17 at the end of the first, but the Warriors went on a 14-0 run to take a 31-18 lead behind senior guard Jessica Palady, who scored 19 points.

The Highlanders focused on Sporio driving to the basket. When the quick, 5-7 guard did so, a defender would be drawn to the lane, which left Palady open for uncontested shots.

“They made a bunch of shots that way,” Burchett said of Sporio’s impact driving to the basket. “We did not execute well at all offensively or defensively. We didn’t have any open looks. We had to work for every shot that we took.”

McGuffey also had five turnovers in the first five minutes of the second quarter and finished with 15.

Though McGuffey trailed by eight points with 10 seconds left in the second quarter, Sporio immediately ran down the floor and made an uncontested lay-up at the buzzer to give the Warriors a 35-25 halftime lead.

Senior forward Olivia Barkley added 11 points for the Warriors, who out-rebounded McGuffey, 33-17. Junior guard Katie Demi chipped in 15 points for the Highlanders.

McGuffey needs to win tonight against an unfamiliar opponent if it wants to reach the state playoffs for the third consecutive season and first time in Class AAA.

“This is what our team does best with,” Burchett said. “If we over prepare than it’s not as effective as if we just go out and play basketball. I don’t care if we don’t know anything about (South Park). I think that might work to our benefit.”

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