Peters Township Girls beat TJ for third time, advance to WPIAL finals
MT. LEBANON – Much of the WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game Saturday against Thomas Jefferson was an uphill climb for the Peters Township girls basketball team.
The Indians trailed by as many as 11 points in the first quarter before almost climbing out of the double-digit hole by halftime as they closed to within two points at the intermission.
Thomas Jefferson, however, led by five points midway through the third quarter and appeared to be on the verge of firmly taking control of the game. That’s when PT freshman point guard Taylor McCullough started playing like anything but a freshman, scoring all 12 of her points in the second half and sparking another Indians run.
Then, with the score tied and two minutes to play, TJ’s defense made the huge mistake of not guarding PT’s leading scorer and Division I recruit Natalie Wetzel at the top of the key. Wetzel, without a defender in sight, made an uncontested tiebreaking three-pointer and Peters Township went on to a 46-43 victory at Mount Lebanon High School.
The win sends second-seeded Peters Township (22-3) to the championship game Friday (7 p.m.) against top-seeded South Fayette (24-1) at the Petersen Events Center.
Sixth-seeded Thomas Jefferson (20-5), which has secured a PIAA playoff spot, will play in a third-place game against Mars (15-10). Three of TJ’s five losses are to Peters Township, its section rival. This time, the win was a little more difficult for the Indians to secure.
“I’m not surprised by what happened,” PT coach Steve Limberiou admitted. “You go all week and give them the coachspeak of (it’s hard to beat) a team for the third time. Of course, it isn’t. They beat a team (Penn-Trafford) that was undefeated, so I can’t say I’m surprised the game was the way it was.
“Our shooting was abysmal. … We survived it. Our defense after the first quarter was really good. We showed a lot of resolve and that’s what it takes to win here.”
That resolve was needed because TJ made each of its first seven shots and eight of the first nine. That enabled the Jaguars to forge a 17-6 lead and had the Indians calling a timeout down 11 late in the first quarter.
“There was no panic,” McCullough recalled.
“We were down 16-9 to them at home when we played them three weeks ago,” Limberiou pointed out. “Credit them. They came out and made shots. We were a little tentative and maybe some nerves played into it, but we were a little on our heels.”
Whatever worries Lamberiou had were eased over the last nine minutes of the first half. Wetzel scored seven of her game-high 15 points in the second quarter and TJ suddenly went cold from the field as PT closed to within 24-22 at halftime.
The Indians tied the score at 24-24 in the third quarter when Daniela Radulovich, who had 13 points, dropped in a jumper from eight feet. Baskets by Maggie Spell, Riley McCabe and a three-pointer by Kaylee DeAngelo put TJ back on top 31-26 and swung the momentum back to the Jaguars.
That’s when McCullough provided PT with a spark. After not scoring in the first half, McCullough made a three-pointer from the left baseline and added another three that gave PT its first lead of the game, 34-33, with 1:07 left in the third quarter. McCullough’s third trey gave the Indians a 37-35 edge early in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve been watching her play since she was in fifth or sixth grade and that trait has been there,” Lamberiou said of her freshman playing beyond her experience level. “She has an ability to not be rattled by the environment that’s around her.”
McCullough admitted playing for the Indians’ WPIAL champion soccer team helped her in the semifinal setting on the basketball court.
“We won the WPIALs and there was a lot of pressure in those games,” McCullough said. “Being in that situation before helps because once you’ve experienced it, then you know how to handle the pressure.”
A 10-footer by Radulovich gave the Indians a four-point lead, but TJ had one more push remaining. A basket off by Emma Altavilla tied the score at 41-41 with less than three minutes left.
The Jaguars, however, lost Wetzel, a Miami (Fla.) recruit, on defense and she made the tiebreaking three that put PT up, 44-41. A basket by McCabe made it a one-point game but that was as close as TJ could get.
Spell led TJ in scoring with 12 points but she had only two in the second half.