Undefeated North Allegheny too much for Peters Twp. in final
Peters Township's Olivia Ziegler applauds as North Allegheny receives the championship trophy after winning the WPIAL Class 6A championship Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.
Peters Township senior captains Lillian Young, Olivia Ziegler and Erin Gummersbach pose with the runner-up trophy after the Indians fell to North Allegheny Saturday in the WPIAL Class A championship game at the Petersen Events Center.
Peters Township's Lillian Young attempts to reign in her emotions during the medal ceremony after Peters Township's loss to North Allegheny Saturday in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Makenna Marisa drives past North Allegheny’s Brynn Serbin during Saturday’s WPIAL Class 6A championship game at the Petersen Events Center.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Olivia Ziegler tries to shoot over North Allegheny’s Lizzy Groetsch and Piper Morningstar during Saturday’s the WPIAL Class 6A girls’ championship game at the Petersen Events Center.
Lillian Young drives to the basket Saturday against North Allegheny during the WPIAL Class 6A championship game at the Petersen Events Center.
PITTSBURGH – North Allegheny High School’s Spencer Stefko was as nervous as you could be entering a game as the coach of an undefeated favorite.
The Tigers’ coach wasn’t worried about if his nationally ranked team was ready to play, but rather the challenges that Peters Township’s girls basketball team offered.
“I’ve been having Zantac for dinner and washing it down with Pepto-Bismol,” Stefko joked. “The thing (Peters Township) does best as a team is hit the glass. They are bigger than they look. They get off the floor quickly for second rebounds and are a nightmare.”
If he had any idea how his team would handle Peters Township’s calling card, Stefko wouldn’t have had to put his stomach through the rigors of medication.
Top-seeded North Allegheny used all five players to dominate the rebounding battle and drained Peters Township with nine three-pointers to defeat the Indians 79-48 in the WPIAL Class 6A Championship Saturday night at the Petersen Events Center.
North Allegheny held a 33-16 advantage on the boards to create second-chance opportunities and even more wide-open looks from behind the arc.
“We just did not rebound the basketball. And we knew we needed to,” said Peters Township coach Bert Kendall. “For whatever reason, we weren’t able to get our hands on the loose balls and box out. That was probably the biggest difference.”
The lack of ability to rebound and an inability to match North Allegheny’s efficiency from three-point range put the Indians in a similar situation as when the two teams met at the end of the regular season. North Allegheny (25-0) also couldn’t miss from deep in that game, making 12 threes, eight in the first half.
“They spread the floor and pass really well,” Kendall said about North Allegheny. “They use the entire floor really well. It’s obvious why they are the No. 1 team in the state. And they’ve got players. All five (starters) can shoot the ball. It would be hard to see any better than that I think.”
Kendall referred to North Allegheny as a “little army” earlier in the season with their depth and ability to score at all positions.
North Allegheny made the first three-pointers they attempted, including one from freshman Lizzy Groetsch with 2:48 left in the first quarter to put the Tigers ahead 19-8. Groetsch, who made her first eight field goals, tied Piper Morningstar with a team-high 18 points.
The Indians cut into the deficit when Marisa took over to begin the second quarter. Erin Gummersbach found Marisa on a pretty give-and-go inbounds play to cut the deficit to four points, 25-21, with 3:31 left in the second quarter.
That would be the closest the Indians would get as North Allegheny’s Courtney Roman made the second of her trio of three-pointers in the first half to ignite a 11-2 run over the final three minutes for a 36-23 lead.
“It’s hard. It really is,” Marisa said about falling behind early. “We have to stay calm and play our game. They just had a great game.”
PT’s Isabella Mills echoed those statements, also saying that rebounding became more difficult in the Indians’ zone defense, where blocking out becomes more communication than anything.
The Tigers didn’t allow any chance for a comeback, controlling the third quarter and outscoring Peters Township 26-11. In a three-minute span in the middle of the quarter, North Allegheny went on a 15-2 run, sparked by two three-pointers from Morningstar, who had 16 of her 18 points in the second half.
“I didn’t have a message at halftime. I went (into the locker room) three minutes in and (our players) already made a couple of adjustments,” Stefko said, after the Tigers nearly blew the same halftime deficit in their regular season meeting with PT.
“We matched their intensity. I’ll have to watch the film to see if we took a bad shot all night, because I don’t think we did. When (our players) move the ball it’s not coaching. There is zero coaching that goes on. They simply find each other. I’m not often a loss for words, but I have trouble describing it when the ball moves like that. It’s not a normal thing to see in a high school game.”
Despite facing multiple defenders throughout the game, Marisa finished with a game-high 25 points.
“We saw a great effort out of them,” Kendall said of North Allegheny, which had struggles on the offensive end in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
“We struggled from the field, especially behind the three-point line. That combination of getting doubled up on rebounding and don’t shoot the three ball for our average, if you’re in a championship game, that’s the result you’re going to get.”
Peters Township (21-4) will open the state tournament with its fourth meeting of the season with section rival Bethel Park Friday night.