Defense carries Canon-Mac past Mt. Lebanon
CANONSBURG – The Canon-McMillan girls basketball team prides themselves on their defense.
Ask any of the players and they’ll tell you that.
It’s what Big Macs coach John Fontana said is their calling card and they certainly relied on it Thursday night.
In a game where there were moments of frustration on the offensive end, the Big Macs stayed the course defensively to advance in the playoffs.
Top-seeded Canon-McMillan shut out No. 8 Mt. Lebanon in the second quarter and held the Blue Devils to eight made baskets in the entire game to secure a 37-24 win in a WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal game.
The Big Macs (19-4) advanced to the semifinals for the second year in a row and will meet the winner of Friday’s game between Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley on Tuesday at a site and time to be announced.
They beat Mt. Lebanon (7-16) for a third time this season after a clean sweep during section play.
The Blue Devils were held to single digits in all four quarters.
“Our defense is outstanding,” Fontana said. “We base everything on our defense. We’re long. We switch. We’re in gaps and playing help defense. We stopped the things they do really well. We’re just a very good defensive team.”
There was no better example of Canon-McMillan’s defensive prowess than the second quarter.
The Big Macs pressed on inbounds plays and played tough half-court defense, giving no easy looks and put a zero in Mt. Lebanon’s linescore.
“That was a whole team effort,” Big Macs senior Madison Clair said. “One of our biggest things is defense. You can score however many points you want, but if you can’t stop the other team, you’re not going to win. It takes everyone to play good defense, not just one person.”
Though they dominated on the defensive side, they had trouble offensively and mustered only eight points to take a 17-9 lead into halftime.
Clair and Lauren Borella admitted after the game that there were some nerves going into the game. Add in the fact that the Big Macs had a 10-day layoff between games and at times they were disjointed on the offensive end.
But they never trailed in the second half and Mt. Lebanon never made it a one-possession game.
“I felt like not playing for a while hurt us in the first quarter, but we played through it. There were nerves coming in, but you just have to take it one game at a time. Win the first game and go from there.”
The game was physical throughout and Canon-McMillan led 25-18 after three quarters after making only two shots in the quarter.
Fontana credited Mt. Lebanon for making life difficult for his team offensively.
“They’re a good team that’s a few points away from having a better record,” Fontana said. “I think Knobby (Mark Walsh) does a good job coaching them. He made some adjustments to take away things that we do really well and that’s why we didn’t score a whole lot of points either.”
Mt. Lebanon went nearly 13 minutes of game time between points from the end of the first quarter to the 4:22 mark of the third when Cali Green made a pair of free throws. Ann Tinnemeyer made a shot in the paint for Mt. Lebanon’s first field goal in 14 minutes at the 3:35 mark.
Even with that drought, Mt. Lebanon was within shouting distance entering the fourth after Elizabeth Twyman hit a three at the buzzer to cut the lead to 25-18. But Canon-McMillan had a 10-2 run in the fourth to put the game away.
Clair and Faye Saunders made baskets on offensive rebounds, Lauren Borella made a tough runner and converted a pair of free throws. Clair finished the run with a layup.
Saunders led the Blue Devils with 11 points. Borella and Clair scored 10 apiece.
The Big Macs are one game away from their dream of playing at the Petersen Events Center in a WPIAL final.
“In our freshman year I never thought we’d be here,” Borella said. “We won one section game. It’s so exciting how we’ve progressed as a team and as people.”
Mt. Lebanon 9 0 9 6 – 24
Canon-McMillan 9 8 8 12 – 37
Mt. Lebanon: Ann Tinnemeyer, 6 points; Elizabeth Twyman, 6; Cali Green, 6.
Canon-McMillan: Faye Saunders, 11 points; Lauren Borella, 10; Madison Clair, 10.