West Greene makes it 4 finals in a row
ROGERSVILLE – West Greene won’t be playing at the Petersen Events Center this year.
Peters Township High School will suit coach Jordan Watson’s persistent girls basketball team just fine, though.
The Pioneers reached the WPIAL Class 1A championship game for the fourth year in a row by holding off Eden Christian, 54-49, in their semifinal battle Thursday night at West Greene.
While the previous three trips, all losses, were played at Pitt’s home court, this year’s final is being held at a neutral site high school. The second-seeded Pioneers will face their old nemesis, two-time defending champion and top-seeded Rochester at 5 p.m. on Monday at Peters Township.
“It’s unbelievable to be back in the final for a fourth straight year,” West Greene coach Jordan Watson said. “Hopefully, we’ll get the gold this time.”
“It’s amazing,” said Pioneers senior Jersey Wise, who scored 16 points. “It’s a blessing to keep going and to show that small team from West Greene can get there every year.”
The Pioneers (18-3) had to survive a back-and-forth battle with the third-seeded Warriors (11-7) to get there and came up big in crucial moments down the stretch.
West Greene took a 44-37 lead into the fourth quarter but a 9-4 run by Eden Christian, capped by Emelia Johnson’s 3-pointer, whittled the gap to two with 2:21 left.
A Pioneers turnover with 1:44 remaining gave the Warriors a chance to tie or take the lead but Anna Durbin came up with a steal for West Greene which led to a driving basket by Wise to put the hosts up 50-46 with 1:15 left.
Eden Christian missed a jump shot at the other end and Wise saved the ball from going out of bounds to Brooke Barner who scored at the other end for a six-point lead as the clock ticked under one minute.
After the Warriors’ Katie Kirby converted one of two free throws to make it 52-47, West Greene’s Elizabeth Brudnock was fouled and went to the line with 26.7 seconds left. The senior calmly swished both shots to make it a three-possession game that all but wrapped up the win.
The Warriors’ Natalie Merrick hit a meaningless bucket in the final seconds.
Haylee Fleishman led Eden Christian with 15 points with all but two coming in the first half. Taylor Haring had 14 points and Merrick chipped in with 10.
Durbin led the Pioneers with a game-high 18 points and Barner added 14.
“I love these games, I thrive in these games, I wait all year and all season long for these games,” Barner said. “It comes down to battling them out, who can last longer, who’s dedicated, who has more heart.”
West Greene held a 20-12 lead after the first quarter with Wise sinking three 3-pointers and making all three free throws when she was fouled on another attempt.
The Warriors began to break the Pioneers’ vaunted full-court press to shift the tide their way in the second quarter and surged to a 29-27 halftime lead.
West Greene rebounded with a strong third quarter, out-scoring Eden Christian 17-8. Barner’s three-point play with 3:06 left in the third put the Pioneers ahead to stay.
“I think you’ve got two really good basketball teams who both play with a lot of pressure and can play with a lot of speed,” Warriors coach Ryan Brodgon said. “That momentum kept switching back and forth and, unfortunately, we didn’t get that last wave. They got it.”
Watson said his team had no intention of pulling back on its pressure when Eden Christian began to have some success against it.
“We believe in that cumulative effect for 32 minutes,” Watson said. “If they score a couple baskets we’re not just going to retreat back to a 2-3 zone. We’re going to keep after it. Every defense we have starts with ball pressure.”
Durbin thought recent competition against one of the premier Class 5A teams helped her team Thursday night.
“We are a very aggressive team,” Durbin said. “We scrimmaged and played Char-Valley twice this season and they prepared us for quick-paced games and that’s exactly what this game was.
“Our coaches always keep us in shape during practices so when it comes to these games where we’re running up and down the court, we’re ready for it.”
Wise is thrilled to be playing in the WPIAL championship game for a fourth straight year.
“It’s been a great ride,” she said. “And I’ve loved every minute of it.”