Feb 2, 2019 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – The West Greene High School girls basketball team and coach Jordan Watson wanted a challenge.

The Pioneers certainly found one in Bishop Canevin Saturday afternoon.

Humbling the West Greene press and controlling play from start to finish, Canevin flipped the wide margin the Pioneers are accustomed to having by game’s end and halted their 17-game winning streak with a dominating 78-54 non-section victory.

“We wanted to play a team like this because we know in the playoffs we aren’t going to play anybody better,” Watson said. “They were in the Triple-A state title game last year. No matter what we do in Single-A, we aren’t playing anyone better than that. Rochester, Quigley Catholic and Greensburg Central Catholic are all good, but they aren’t that good.”

West Greene (18-2) never could establish its full-court press against the athletic Crusaders. Of the 13 Bishop Canevin turnovers, none were created from the Pioneers’ full-court pressure, which Watson backed away from midway through the first quarter.

Press, man, zone or a combination of those defenses, it didn’t matter.

Canevin (17-2) trailed only once in the entire game, which was in the opening minute. The Crusaders built a double-digit lead that never would be surrendered when Shamyjha Price scored six points to lead a 10-0 run to end the first quarter with Canevin leading 21-8.

“Our guards are pretty fast but we even had trouble staying in front of Diajha Allen and Shamyjha Price. They are unbelievable,” Watson said. “You can tell there is just a different look to them. They have an athletic ability that is just, wow!”

Allen, who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Price, who scored 18, were two of four players in double figures for Bishop Canevin, which led 38-19 at halftime.

Gillan Gustine eliminated any chance of the game being put back into doubt by the Pioneers in the second half. Gustine opened the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers and made four in the eight minutes following halftime. She scored a team-high 19 points.

Canevin made nine of its 10 threes in the second half.

“We are tough to guard because all five starters can score both inside and outside,” said Canevin coach Scott Dibble. “It puts a lot of pressure on the other team. People don’t press us because they realize how fast we are and how well our kids can handle the ball.”

The Pioneers’ limited ability to press led to an unconventional offense for West Greene, which was primarily a half-court attack that tried to break down the Crusaders’ 2-3 zone.

McKenna Lampe was the only Pioneer to find consistency, scoring a game-high 22 points. Kaitlyn Rizor added 13, including 10 in the second half.

“We set the school record for wins last year,” Watson said. “Yeah, we want to win every game. But we don’t care about how many losses we have. We care about being ready and battle-tested,” Watson said. “This group knows they will be judged on how they do in the postseason.”