Canon-Mac girls rally past Peters Township
CANONSBURG – On three separate occasions, Lauren Borella took a hit and kept on going.
That was kind of emblematic of the night for Canon-McMillan’s girls basketball team.
The Big Macs fell behind by 14 points in the first half, but didn’t waiver and rallied to secure a 49-44 win over Peters Township Monday night.
Borella had a game-high 18 points and was all smiles after the game even after getting some bumps and bruises.
“I did a split, got hit in the head, fell down, but we got the win, so it’s all good,” Borella said. “That’s kind of what we do best. Even if we get knocked down or are behind, we know how to fight our way back and stay positive through everything.”
The Peters Township boys team earned a 54-43 win over Canon-McMillan in a hard-fought nightcap.
After a historic season a year ago where the Big Macs girls team won a state playoff game for the first time, they return everyone on their roster and have high aspirations in Class 6A.
A win against the defending WPIAL Class 5A champions was a big early season momentum boost.
“We have four senior starters that have been through it all,” Canon-McMillan coach John Fontana said. “They’ve been down before, they’ve been up. … It doesn’t matter. They just continue to play hard and play with a winning spirit.”
Canon-McMillan trailed by 22-8 in the second quarter, but trimmed the deficit four at halftime. The Big Macs got their first lead of the game with 1:17 remaining in the third quarter when Borella hit a pair of free throws.
The Big Macs limited the Indians to two made field goals in the third quarter, a three-pointer by Alina Sopko and a running layup by Taylor McCullough.
Jordyn Welsh canned a three at the beginning of the fourth to give Peters Township a brief 35-34 lead, but Faye Saunders responded with a spinning shot off the glass and the Big Macs never trailed again.
Borella had six of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter and after the final seconds ticked off, she and her teammates had a loud celebration on the court that carried over into the locker room.
“This win meant a lot to us,” Borella said. “You could hear us just a little bit (yelling) in the locker room I’m sure.”
In its first game since the graduation of Natalie Wetzel, who’s now at Miami (Fla.), Peters Township got off to a hot start both offensively and defensively.
The game was tied 5-5 after Madison Clair made a layup for Canon-McMillan, but Peters Township finished the quarter on a 13-3 run.
Bri Morreale had eight points in the quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Sophomore Caitlyn Malloy added a banked 3-pointer from the top of the arc.
Jumpers from Welsh and Alina Sopko increased the lead to 22-8, but the Big Macs started to find their rhythm late in the first half.
Madison Clair made a runner off the glass for Canon-McMillan’s first bucket of the second quarter at the 3:03 mark.
After that the Big Macs finished the half on a 11-3 run. Borella had a pair of baskets that got the deficit to eight.
“Lauren is our engine,” Fontana said. “She gets the ball and when she’s out running, she runs as well as anyone in the WPIAL. She gets fouled. She controls our offense and to me she’s by far one of the best point guards in the WPIAL.
After Welsh canned a three-pointer for the Indians, Clair banked in a layup and Sam Miller finished the half with a three-pointer and a runner in the lane to get the deficit down to 25-21 at halftime.
Clair had 14 points and Miller scored 13. Sopko led Peters Township with a dozen points. Morreale and Welsh had eight points apiece.
Peters Twp., 54-43
Dylan Donovan scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to help Peters Township secure a 54-43 win over Canon-McMillan.
Donovan made four three-pointers in the second half.
That played a big part in stretching out the lead after the Big Macs had worked their way back into the game.
Peters Township led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter and held the lead until Keegan Williams sank a 3-pointer to tie it at 38-38 late in the third quarter.
Donovan responded with a three to give the Indians a 41-38 lead and they never trailed again.
Peters Township outscored Canon-McMillan 13-5 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Taycen McClain led Canon-McMillan with 11 points.