Quips’ Henry ends Wash High’s rebound season
It’s only the smallest of consolations today, but the season of rebirth for Washington High School girls basketball ended Friday night in heroic fashion.
The Prexies, one season removed from a one-win campaign, played Aliquippa hard and with emotion and passion for 32 minutes, only to fall victim to too many missed free throws, too many turnovers and a big fourth quarter by Aliquippa’s leading scorer.
Angel Henry, a 1,000-point scorer for the Quips, tallied nine of her 11 points in the pivotal fourth quarter and Aliquippa held off Wash High, 45-39, in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs at Wash High Gymnasium.
Aliquippa (11-9) advances to play third-seeded Serra Catholic in the quarterfinals. The Quips clinched a spot in the PIAA tournament.
Wash High’s season ends with a section championship and an 18-5 record, a 17-win improvement under first-year head coach Josh Wise, a former standout player with the Prexies and in the PSAC at Pitt-Johnstown.
“At the beginning of the season, I told the team that no one was expecting anything from Wash High basketball. It was dead,” Wise said. “These ladies brought it back to life.”
And for about 27 of the 32 minutes against Aliquippa, the Prexies’ playoff life had a strong heartbeat. Wash High led 21-19 at halftime, trailed 35-33 after three quarters and was tied, 37-37, early in the fourth quarter.
That, however, was when Henry pulled the plug on the Prexies’ season when she scored six points – a jumper in traffic, a driving layup and a basket on the back end of a give-and-go play – during a 7-0 Aliquippa run that gave the Quips a 44-37 lead with four minutes remaining.
“Angel did what great players do – she made big plays at big times,” Aliquippa coach Dwight Lindsey said.
Henry was held to only two points through the first three quarters.
“What I liked was she didn’t get overly aggressive because she wasn’t scoring,” Lindsey said. “She didn’t allow herself to become frustrated. She made a couple of buckets in the fourth quarter and those allowed us gain separation.”
Neither team could shake the other for three quarters because of free-throw shooting woes. Wash High led at halftime despite missing 11 in the first half and finished the game 11-for-28. Aliquippa was 3-for-13 in the first half and 7-for-21 in the game.
“You don’t realize how crucial free-throw shooting and turnovers are until you look at those numbers on the statistics sheet, “Wise said. “Free-throw shooting had been an Achilles heel for us but I thought we had gotten better in that area.”
Wash High stayed within striking distance until the final minute in large part because of the play of senior forward Cayleigh Brown, who had 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Brown’s improved play this season seemed to mirror that of the Prexies.
“Cayleigh Brown’s maturity as a player is one of the greatest things I’ve seen in coaching,” Wise said. “We moved her into the starting lineup halfway through the season and her confidence rose to another level. She gave us toughness every game. She was everything we needed.
“In this game, she kept us in the lead or competing for the lead. It was one of the best games she’s ever played.”
Wash High needed it because Aliquippa’s defense was focused on the Prexies’ backcourt tandem of Kaprice Johnson and Olivia Woods. The duo was held to 15 points.
“We knew we would be in a battle for 32 minutes,” Lindsey said. “We were worried about Wash High’s two guards. (Johnson) made one layup where she twisted like she was Kobe Bryant.
“I know Wash High was down last year but Coach got it turned around. They won a section championship. We knew were going to have our hands full. It’s wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.”
Aliquippa’s Aunesty Johnson scored a game-high 16 points, 10 coming in the third quarter.