Indiana pulls away from Kiski Area girls in 2nd quarter to win section opener

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, December 19, 2023 | 9:19 PM

The Kiski Area girls basketball team hoped to stop a two-game losing skid, which included a one-point loss to Mars last Friday, as it opened Section 1-5A play Tuesday against defending section champion Indiana.

But the visiting Indians had other plans.

Senior guard Bella Antonacci, a section all-star last year, led the way with 17 points, and senior forward Cassie Boyer added 13 as Indiana built a 13-point halftime lead en route to a 40-21 victory over the Cavaliers.

“They outworked us,” Kiski Area coach Dave Williamson said. “They hit contested shots early, and you have to tip your cap to that. They came in with a game plan. We just have to execute better. We forced some shots early, and we were trying to battle back from a deficit.”

The Cavaliers, now 3-4 overall, return to action Thursday at Penn-Trafford.

“They can score a lot of points, and we know they are going to be a very formidable opponent. I am confident we can play with anybody,” Williamson said. “I am going to chalk it up to it being just bad night, but we definitely have to work on our games, both individually and as a team.”

Cavaliers sophomore Gianna DeVito finished with a team-best 12 points to go with five rebounds.

Kiski Area senior guard Abbie Johns, who came in averaging 20.8 points through the first six games, started Tuesday’s contest but was not feeling 100% and sat for a good chunk of the first half.

She started the third quarter, played almost the entire second half and finished with just two points on a pair of free throws with 7 minutes, 15 seconds left in the third.

“I am not in the business of making any excuses, but we’re battling some overall sickness going through the team,” Williamson said. “Abbie was playing with low energy. I was proud of her for gutting it out and giving us what she could.”

Indiana (5-1, 2-0) used an 8-0 run to close the third quarter to extend to a 19-point lead and all but put the game on ice.

DeVito made a 3-pointer with 2:48 left, and she and senior Cora Coleman combined to go 3 for 4 from the line in the final two minutes to set the final.

Boyer scored nine of her 13 points in the second half, and Antonacci recorded 13 of her 17 over the first 16 minutes.

“The competition is always really tough in the section,” Indiana coach Michael Franciscus said. “Kiski is a really good team with talented players. The girls like to see that good competition every single night, and that helps us keep getting better. They did a really good job of executing tonight, and I am really proud of them.”

Antonacci got Indiana going with an early 3-pointer, and Kiski Area didn’t get on the board until DeVito hit a free throw at the 4:15 mark of the first quarter.

DeVito also had her team’s first field goal, a 3-pointer at the 3:16 mark of the opening quarter

A layup from Coleman with 1:18 left in the first drew the Cavaliers to within 9-8.

The Indians started to take control right out of the gate in the second quarter with a 9-0 run to build an 18-8 lead. Coleman stopped the run with a 3-pointer, but Indiana used a free throw and a 3-pointer from Antonacci and a jumper from Boyer to build its largest lead of the first half at 24-11 as the teams headed to the break.

“I think we played really good team defense and rebounded well, which was one of our goals,” Franciscus said. “Kiski came out with a really good game plan in the second half and made us work for it. We did a nice job of containing their best players, and I am proud of their effort.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Indiana, Kiski Area