2022 PIAA Class 2A girls basketball championship breakdown: Neshannock vs. Southern Columbia
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Thursday, March 24, 2022 | 10:08 PM
Neshannock’s Neleh Nogay (center) celebrates with Addilae Watts (left) and Aaralyn Nogay after defeating OLSH in the WPIAL Class 2A championship game on Friday, March. 4, 2022, at Petersen Events Center.
Neshannock’s Hunter Newman (left) celebrates after hitting a three-pointer against OLSH during the WPIAL Class 2A championship game on Friday, March. 4, 2022, at Petersen Events Center.
PIAA Class 2A girls basketball final
Neshannock vs. Southern Columbia
Noon Friday, Giant Center, Hershey
On the air: TV: PCN
PIAA titles: Neshannock 0, Southern Columbia 0
Neshannock (28-2)
Coach: Luann Grybowski
Probable starting lineup
No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.
1, Neleh Nogay, 5-6, sr., G
11, Addilae Watts, 5-7, sr., G
20, Aaralyn Nogay, 5-6, jr., G
24, Megan Pallerino, 5-11, jr., F
34, Mairan Haggerty, 6-1, jr., G/F
Notable: Coming off a second straight WPIAL championship, Neshannock has cruised through the PIAA playoffs, with wins over Penns Manor, 46-23; Cambridge Springs, 44-25; Shenango, 51-17; and Bellwood-Antis, 61-53. … Junior guard/forward Mairan Haggerty leads the Lancers in scoring at 18.8 ppg, but junior forward Megan Pallerino, senior guards Addi Watts and Neleh Nogay, a Fordham softball commit, and junior guard Aaralyn Nogay are key scorers as well. … Haggerty, Pallerino and Watts all had 14 points in the semifinals. … Coach Luann Grybowski became the third WPIAL coach to surpass 700 career victories earlier this season. … The Lancers have won 13 straight games since a Jan. 27 loss to OLSH. … Neshannock reached the PIAA title game a year ago, losing to District 4’s Mt. Carmel, 54-43.
Southern Columbia (29-1)
Coach: Kami Traugh
Probable starting lineup
No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.
13, Alli Griscavage, 6-1, jr., C
22, Summer Tillett, 5-9, sr., SF
24, Loren Gehret, 5-8, jr., PG
30, Ava Novak, 5-7, jr., SG
33, Colby Bernhard, 5-8, sr., G
Notable: District 4 champion Southern Columbia reached the PIAA finals after beating Elk Lake, 67-35; Tri Valley, 45-14; Bishop McCort, 84-64; and Mt. Carmel, 50-46. … Southern Columbia averages 55.9 points while allowing 38.0. … Junior center Alli Griscavage has surpassed 1,000 career points. She averages 16.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. … Senior forward Summer Tillett is a Susquehanna recruit who averages 10.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. … Junior point guard Loren Gehret is an All-American soccer player. … Junior guard Ava Novak averages 12.2 points. … Kami Traugh is in her first season as head coach at her alma mater. She is the daughter of Southern Columbia football coach Jim Roth, the state’s all-time wins leader in football. … Southern Columbia has won 20 straight games.
Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.
Tags: Neshannock
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