Jan 29, 2026 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

McDONALD – Gianna Bianchini admitted she had been in a bit of a funk with her outside shot over the last couple weeks, she put her nose to the grindstone to get back on track.

“I’ve been working on setting my feet and getting my form right,” Bianchini said. “It felt good to finally see one go in.”

For Bianchini it became set it and forget it, because when she put a shot up it went down more often than not.

Bianchini hit five three pointers and alongside an excellent defensive effort, Fort Cherry get closer to a third straight section title with a 52-25 win Thursday night.

The Rangers improved to 7-0 in Class 2A Section 2 and 13-5 overall. They swept Burgettstown (5-2, 13-5) and now have a two-game lead on everyone in the section with three league games to play.

“We have three more games to go and we want to win it outright,” Fort Cherry coach Clarence Edwards said. “We haven’t won one outright since 2012. One game down. Three games to go.”

Gianna Bianchini’s huge night from beyond the arc started by sinking four threes in the first half and she had one more in the final two quarters.

She finished with a game-high 17 points.

Edwards was happy to see his sophomore sharpshooter find a rhythm

“I think she was in her head a little bit and at practice I just told her to set her feet and let it go,” Edwards said. “I think once she saw those first one go in she was fine from there on out. She’s a heck of a player and a solid shooter. When she’s rolling the sky is the limit.”

Brooke Cornali also had a pair of threes and had nine points.

The Rangers defeated Burgettstown, 59-37, on Jan. 5 and were in full control of the rematch.

Fort Cherry led 38-14 at halftime and the second half was played with a running clock.

The Rangers limited Burgettstown to five made baskets the entire game.

Burgettstown got off to a good start, scoring the games first six points, which forced a Fort Cherry timeout.

After that the Rangers went on a 12-1 run over the next three minutes. Gianna Bianchini hit two three pointers during the run and Julie Klose scored twice in baskets off rebounds inside.

Allison Litman also had two baskets off rebounds.

Litman had 11 points.

Gianna Bianchini received a pass from her sister Bella and canned a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Rangers a 23-12 lead after one quarter.

“I did not think that one was going in,” Gianna said. “I was surprised to see it go through”

The Rangers’ dominance spilled over into the second quarter.

Between the two frames, they finished the half on a 38-8 run. Burgettstown did not have a made basket in the second until a buzzer-beating runner from Paige Klodowski.

Meanwhile, the Rangers feasted off turnovers for quick points, including a steal and score on an inbounds play by Bella Bianchini, which bumped the lead to 38-12.

“They had a good shooting night and we didn’t unfortunately,” Burgettstown coach Megan Zitner said. “That happens sometimes. When you can’t get into a rhythm you start making some bad decisions and start throwing up shots that are kind of Hail Mary type shots instead of playing basketball.

“They’re a good team that has size and that gets them multiple looks. Not taking anything away from them, they are a good team, but we weren’t at our best tonight.”

Savanna Rush scored 11 points for the Blue Devils. She went seven of 10 from the free throw line.

Burgettstown 12 2 4 7 – 25

Fort Cherry 23 15 12 2 – 52

Burgettstown: Savanna Rush, 11 points.

Fort Cherry: Gianna Bianchini, 17 points; Allison Litman, 11.