Mt. Lebanon captures 4th WPIAL championship with victory over rival Upper St. Clair

By: Bill Hartlep
Friday, March 4, 2022 | 8:31 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

It wasn’t the start Mt. Lebanon was hoping for. The finish, though, was as good as gold.

The top-seeded Blue Devils earned their fourth WPIAL girls basketball championship Friday night with a 55-44 victory over No. 3 Upper St. Clair in the Class 6A title game at Petersen Events Center.

Mt. Lebanon (23-1) didn’t score for the first four minutes of the game, but once the Blue Devils found their touch, they didn’t turn back.

Senior guard Ashleigh Connor led the Blue Devils with 23 points. She hit 11 of 16 free throws to seal the win. Seniors Brooke Collins and freshman Payton Collins each had nine points.

“In the first quarter, my shots weren’t falling. I just had to keep going, keep shooting,” said Connor, a St. Louis recruit. “In the second half, they started falling. We got a lot of energy and motivation.”

Upper St. Clair (20-5) opened a 6-0 lead as Mt. Lebanon struggled from the field, starting 0 for 7 before Payton Collins knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing 4:25 into the game. The Panthers increased their lead to 13-5 early in the second quarter before the Blue Devils turned the tide.

Connor, who started 0 for 8, scored five straight points, followed by a jumper from junior Anna Streiff and a steal and layup from junior Victoria Pettko as Mt. Lebanon went on a 9-0 run to take a 14-13 lead. Connor ended the half with a driving lay-in to give the Blue Devils an 18-15 advantage at the half.

“I thought our defense was pretty strong in the first half,” USC coach Pete Serio said. “We needed to score more in the first half. We got more aggressive in the second half. I thought we got to the rim a little bit more, and it helped us play at a different pace in the second half.”

Upper St. Clair hit on just 4 of 13 shots in the third quarter but remained within striking distance as Mt. Lebanon increased its lead to 33-28. Junior Mia Brown and freshman Rylee Kalocay each had key baskets in the second half and finished with 13 points apiece for the Panthers.

Brooke and Payton Collins knocked down clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for the Blue Devils, who sealed the victory at the free throw line, going 10 of 16 in the final frame en route to the 55-44 win.

“Crazy good,” said Mt. Lebanon senior Reagan Murdoch, who lost in the WPIAL lacrosse final last spring. “This feels even better than I could imagine.”

It had been 10 years since Mt. Lebanon reached the WPIAL final, and veteran coach Dori Oldaker made sure her players understood the accomplishment. Friday morning, she texted her players, “Game day, savor the day, savor these moments. It was 10 years ago the last time we were here. It’s so hard to get here. Enjoy it.”

Oldaker, who now has 491 career victories, won her sixth WPIAL championship, including two at Blackhawk. Mt. Lebanon also won titles in 2009, ’10 and ’12.

“It’s been worth the wait,” said Oldaker, who has also won five PIAA championships.

Both teams advance to the PIAA Class 6A tournament, which begins Tuesday. Mt. Lebanon will play the District 3 seventh-place finisher.

“It’s like a clean slate,” Connor said. “We just have to start back from the bottom. We’re 0-0. Next game is win or go home. We’ll just get back to work Sunday and go from there.”

Serio told his players to keep their heads up after the loss and turn their focus to the PIAA playoffs. Upper St. Clair plays the District 3 fifth-place finisher in the PIAA opening round.

“I told them to try and remember what it feels like right now,” he said. “Use that motivation going into the next tournament. Play one game at a time and see what we can do. I believe in them. I have all the faith in the world in them. I know they’ll come back.”

Watch an archived video broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.

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: Mt. lebanon, Upper St. Clair