Seventh heaven for Fort Cherry girls
BRIDGEVILLE – Fort Cherry’s long and winding road through the WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball playoffs ended Tuesday night with a 61-46 victory over Winchester Thurston in the seventh-place game at Chartiers Valley High School.
The Rangers (19-7) found a detour around Winchester Thurston’s usually sticky defense and got their offense into high gear early in the game. Once in the lead, Fort Cherry never took its foot off the accelerator and pulled away down the stretch.
Senior guard Raney Staub scored a game-high 26 points and made five of Fort Cherry’s eight three-point field goals, and Brooke Cornali came off the bench to add 12 points.
The night was a split decision for Fort Cherry. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Fort Cherry boys lost to top-seeded Aliquippa 55-36 in the Class 2A semifinals.
The next destination for the Fort Cherry girls will be the PIAA playoffs that begin Friday, March 8. Fort Cherry will play the District 10 (Erie area) champion in the first round. It will be the Rangers’ first appearance in the state tournament since 2012.
The Rangers enter the tournament with plenty of confidence after what was an impressive performance against Winchester Thurston (11-14), which won at Washington in the first round.
“Our girls are hungry,” Fort Cherry coach Clarence Edwards said. “We wanted to win the section. Then we wanted to win a playoff game. Now we’ve won two playoff games.”
The second victory was built around long-range shooting, solid defense and contributions from everybody Edwards inserted into the game.
And there were early indications that it was going to be a very good night for Staub. She began the scoring with a three-pointer from the right wing.
“When I make my first shot, it’s usually a good sign,” Staub admitted.
She was true to form on this night. Staub made four three-pointers in the first half, which ended with Fort Cherry leading, 29-18.
The Rangers made four of their first six three-point shots. For the game, Fort Cherry was 8-for-21 from behind the stripe.
“We usually don’t shoot that many,” Edwards admitted. “There’s usually some hesitation. But when we’re shooting from outside and making them, we’re a better team.”
The first quarter was sloppy as each team committed eight turnovers. Fort Cherry led 14-12 at the end. FC’s Olivia Kemp made a fast-break layup that gave the Rangers the two-point lead and they never trailed the rest of the way.
Kemp finished with six points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds while battling against Winchester Thurtson’s taller post players.
“We’re playing as a team,” Staub said. “Everyone contributed tonight.”
Staub made two three-pointers in the second quarter and Cornali added five points as the Rangers pushed their lead to 29-18 at halftime.
Winchester Thurston managed only six points in the second quarter and battled foul trouble all night. The Bears seemed to be missing something in addition to head coach Nika Williams, who was not in attendance.
The Bears quickened the tempo in the second half but Fort Cherry maintained an 11-point lead entering the final eight minutes. Cornali had a key three-point play and clutch three-pointer late in the third period after it appeared the Bears were primed to make a run.
Winchester Thurston hurt its comeback chances by making only seven of 18 free throws in the second half. DeShae Cochran led the Bears with 11 points.
Staub closed the game by scoring nine points in the fourth quarter.
Aliquippa, 55-36
Josh Pratt scored 16 points, Cameron Lindsey added 14 and Aliquippa advanced to the Class 2A boys title game with a hard-fought 55-36 victory over Fort Cherry.
Fort Cherry (19-6) had its five-game winning streak snapped. The Rangers will play Northgate in the third-place game Thursday.
The Rangers gave a good effort against the top seed. They trailed 14-8 after one quarter and 27-16 at halftime but couldn’t generate enough offense to fuel a comeback. A three-pointer by Blake Sweder, who finished with nine points, pulled FC to within 36-27 but that was as close as the Rangers would draw.
Alquippa led 41-28 after three quarters and was content to run a delay offense in the final period.
Derek Errett led FC in scoring with 14 points. The Rangers were held to four field goals in the second half.