Belle Vernon girls hold on for section win against McKeesport

By: Jeremy Sellew
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | 11:27 PM

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Two days ago, Belle Vernon girls basketball coach Ronnie Drennen made a statement with the utmost confidence.

“We have a big two games coming up, McKeesport and Southmoreland, and we’re going to beat one or both of them,” Drennen said.

On Thursday, the Leopards checked one of those off the list.

Belle Vernon was able to overcome 21 turnovers and hit key free throws at the end to hold on for a 45-43 win over the Tigers.

The celebration was halted briefly until referees waved off Jhayla Bray’s putback off a missed free throw. The senior forward dominated the glass all night, but her shot was a half-second too late and didn’t leave her hands in time.

“I definitely think this is that one game. The game a young team needs to learn how to win and play in that pressure situation,” Drennen said. “I am extremely proud of them. I believed in them, I trusted them and they trusted each other.”

For McKeesport, it was easy to point out where things went wrong. Just 15 feet from the basket at the free-throw line.

The Tigers shot 37% from the line, 16 of 43.

“I’m just at a loss,” Tigers coach Eric Smith said. “We spend so much time on free throws. I’ve seriously used every gimmick and punishment known to man to help us get better. This has been the story for us. Every game, except the loss to Moon, we’ve had close games and had a huge disparity with our free throws.”

Bray finished with a game-high 23 points and 20 rebounds, dominating the glass and in the paint. Haley Hertzler finished with eight points, but the pair combined to go 9 of 26 from the line.

“Without a doubt it’s a mental thing. We played hard, we executed everything we wanted to do for the most part. That’s something we can build on. But man, with the free throws, I’m just at a loss,” Smith said, facetiously banging his head off the wall.

The young Leopards (15-5, 8-4) got great leadership when they needed it most from senior Rachel Wobrak and junior Taylor Rodriguez. And they got clutch baskets from freshman Jenna Dawson.

Wobrak finished with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds, and Dawson added 13 points.

Wobrak, despite having four fouls, stepped in the lane and took a big charge on Bray inside the final two minutes.

And she held her own with Bray inside before fouling out with 48 seconds to play. As she left the court, she clapped and yelled to her young teammates, “Now, finish it.”

“I’m so proud of them. I think this game should really boost the confidence in a lot of the younger players,” Wobrak said. “We’ve really clicked a lot more lately. This is a great win for us.”

Wobrak said it may not be the best win of her four-year career, but it’s right up there with victories over Southmoreland and EF last season.

“She’s so tough to play against down low,” Wobrak said of Bray. “She’s a fierce competitor, and you know she’s going to go after every board and every shot.”

Drennen was impressed by the play of his senior captain.

“Rachel was a beast for us down low tonight,” Drennen said. “The charge was huge. She finished when she had the ball, and she hit her free throws. She really went in there and was tough. I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

BVA was able to overcome a sub-par first quarter and get into a bit of a rhythm in the second quarter.

After the Leopards took a 7-2 lead. The Tigers made up for a slow start by going on a 10-0 run to close the first quarter to take a 12-7 lead after eight minutes. The Leopards were held scoreless over the final 3 minutes, 43 seconds of the quarter.

In the second, Rodriguez and Dawson each hit 3-pointers as the Leopards (15-5, 8-4) regained a 15-13 lead. After McKeesport scored the next four, a Wobrak layup and two free throws from Rodriguez gave BVA a 19-17 lead at the half.

“We fought and fought and fought some more,” Drennen said. “We competed our tails off, and bouncing back after the end of the first quarter was crucial.”

After Farrah Reader scored to make it 21-18 early in the third, the Tigers (13-7, 9-3) made another run. Six points from Bray and a free throw from Avi Menifee made it 25-21 in favor of McKeesport with 5:11 to go in the third.

The Leopards answered again, though, with a 9-0 run behind six points from Dawson and a 3-pointer from Wobrak to give BVA a 32-26 lead.

They held a 34-28 advantage into the fourth, but the Tigers started hitting some free throws, going 6 of 8, and getting a basket from Hertzler off a steal to tie it 36-36.

After sitting for through the end of the third until the middle of the fourth with four fouls, Wobrak re-entered and put her team on her back. She scored the next six points for her team as they maintained a 42-38 lead with 1:04 to go.

After Bray hit a pair of free throws, Rodriguez hit 2 of 4 in a 16-second span.

“Even though she had a few turnovers, I had a ton of confidence in putting the ball in her hands late,” Drennen said. “That’s crucial with your point guard. She hit 2 of 4. Those were two big points we needed.”

Bray scored on a putback with six seconds left before the Tigers sent BVA’s Tara Callaway to the line.

She sank 1 of 2 to make it a three-point game.

“That kid, no matter what game it was that we’ve won, she always has a key basket, steal or plays great defense when we need her to,” Drennen said. “That free throw was huge because if (Bray’s) basket counts, they win.”

McKeesport looks to rebound Monday at Ringgold.

Tags: Belle Vernon, McKeesport