Waynesburg holds off Char-Houston’s rally to remain unbeaten
WAYNESBURG – As the Waynesburg players were going into the locker room at halftime, Raiders coach Mark Capozolli gave each one a high five and told them the game wasn’t over even though they had a comfortable lead.
He was right.
About a half hour later, the Raiders were staring at a two-point deficit entering the fourth quarter after having a 16-point lead.
And even though three of their five starters are freshmen, they didn’t wilt and let the game slip away.
Waynesburg opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run and held on to beat the Bucs, 58-52, in a nonsection girls basketball game of previously unbeaten teams.
With the win the Raiders improved to 5-0, while the Bucs fell to 5-1.
Capozolli, who’s in his first season coaching Waynesburg, knows Chartiers-Houston well. His daughter, Ava Capozolli, played for the Bucs and coach Laura Montecalvo.
“I knew they were going to bounce back, because they have a very good coach,” Capozolli said. “Some of those girls play for my AAU program, so I knew they could shoot. We knew they weren’t going to quit. They willed themselves back into it.”
Waynesburg trailed 45-43 after three quarters, but Chatham Knight put home a rebound to tie it and Addonae Johnson, one of three freshmen in the Waynesburg lineup, canned a three-pointer to put the Raiders in front.
They never trailed again.
Another freshman, Tess Pauley, made three free throws in the final minute to seal it. She had 19 points to lead four Waynesburg players in double figures.
Knight had 13 points. Johnson and Emma Blair scored 11 points.
Waynesburg won the fourth 15-7.
“We just pulled through,” Pauley said about the win. “The team stuck together and were able to get the win. Coach (Capozolli) did a good job coaching us through it.”
Waynesburg doubled up Chartiers-Houston 32-16 in the first half, but led by Ali Wingard, the Bucs came out of the locker room with a furious rally.
Wingard had 18 of the Bucs’ 29 points in the quarter and finished with a game-high 22. She scored on a runner in the paint to give the Bucs their first lead at 35-34 with 4:20 remaining in the third.
Waynesburg briefly retook the lead, but baskets from Kayloni Williams, Wingard and Hannah Russell helped the Bucs take a 45-43 lead after three.
“We just said we needed to pick up the intensity and kids really followed through with the defensive adjustments,” Montecalvo said. “We were able to convert on the turnovers. That’s about the greatest comeback that I’ve ever had a team make. I wish we could’ve finished it off, but I’m proud of the effort.”
Waynesburg had two 8-0 runs in the first quarter, which had an 8-0 run by Chariters-Houston sandwiched in between.
Knight sank a jumper and a three-pointer to make it 5-0 and Blair made a basket inside while drawing a foul for a three-point play.
Ava Kolovich got Chartiers-Houston on the board with a jumper from just inside the three-point line. Then Aubri Rozanc made a pair of shots inside and Wingard converted a layup to tie it 8-8.
Two minutes went off the clock before Knight canned a three to break the tie. Johnson added a three-pointer and Blair sank two foul shots to give Waynesburg a 16-8 lead after one quarter.
The Raiders added on to their lead by scoring the first five points of the second quarter. Pauley sank a three-pointer and Johnson hit a jumper.
Brooklyn Hess got Chartiers-Houston’s first three pointer to stem the bleeding for a moment, but were outscored 11-5 to finish off the half.
Pauley made another three-pointer and Blair sank two free throws and a jumper to help Waynesburg double up the Bucs 32-16 at halftime.
Waynesburg went 17-for-23 from the free-throw line in the game, while Chartiers-Houston was 4-for-10. The Raiders also canned seven three-pointers to Chartiers-Houston’s two.
“I think the biggest part of our loss and their win was that we didn’t make foul shots and they did,” Montecalvo said.
Kolovich had 11 points for the Bucs.