Aliquippa girls fight off Neshannock comeback to win 1st WPIAL title since 1990

By: Kyle Dawson
Saturday, March 1, 2025 | 12:41 PM

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The Path to the Pete was free and easy for the second-seeded Aliquippa Quips, who entered Saturday’s WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball championship game seeking their first title since winning four in a row from 1987-1990.

After a bit of a bumpy start, Aliquippa took the lead and didn’t hand it over, despite a strong comeback effort from top-seeded Neshannock, to capture gold, 54-51, Saturday at Petersen Events Center.

Aliquippa (20-4) led coast to coast to win its fifth girls basketball crown and pulled away in the second quarter. After the game was tied at 5-5 on a 3-pointer by Neshannock’s Nina Medure with 2:59 to play in the first quarter, Aliquippa used a 20-7 run to take a 25-12 lead to the locker room before handing the Lancers (23-3) their third loss of the season.

“I’ve talked about in the last couple of playoff games: I know what I’m getting out of (this group),” said Quips coach Dwight Lindsey. “If (everyone) comes to the party, we’re pretty darn good.”

Neshannock felt taken out of system in the first half.

“We played them twice; we knew what they were going to do. They took us out of everything we wanted to do in the first half, so that’s a testament to them,” said Neshannock coach Luann Grybowski. “We lost to a good team. They played better than us today.”

Offensive struggles from the second half of a semifinal win over South Side carried over into the first half of the title contest for the Lancers. Neshannock scored 18 points in the second half in a 55-50 win over the Rams on Tuesday and went 5 for 26 (19.2%) from the field in the first half at the Pete, including 1 for 6 from 3-point land.

It wasn’t a ton better for the Quips, who shot 10 for 26 from the field in the first half and 1 for 7 from long range, but the Quips were plus-11 in the rebounding department in the first 16 minutes, which included 11 offensive rebounds. The half also saw Aliquippa lead 18-6 in points in the paint and 12-2 in fast-break points.

“We’ve been sick for weeks. For me to ask them to play 32 minutes of full court was tough. The last two games against Laurel and South Side, we were beat in the second half,” said Grybowski. “I knew coming in today that we were healthier, but I didn’t expect the first quarter we had. We were down 13 at the half, but we battled back.”

It was Yaree Carter, a senior forward for the Quips, who paced the new Class 2A champs. Eight of her 10 points came in the first half, and she pulled down nine of her 12 rebounds before halftime.

Aunesty Johnson and Carter posted double-doubles. Johnson scored 17 and collected 11 rebounds. Four players scored for Aliquippa and they were all in double figures. Denim Odom scored 14 and Carla Brown had 13.

Payton Newman, a junior for Neshannock, was a bright spot in defeat, as she posted a championship game double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Jaidon Nogay poured in 12 despite 4-for-19 shooting, and Medure ended the game with 11.

Neshannock scored the first five points of the third and closed the gap to three late in the frame, as Aliquippa took a 40-35 lead to the fourth. Neshannock had a spurt in the middle stages of the quarter and got as close as 46-44 and kept it close down the stretch, but ultimately fell after a missed shot on its last possession, trailing 54-51.

Aliquippa never had to go to the free-throw line in the final seconds.

“The plan was to foul earlier (than we did), but we had kids (in foul trouble),” said Grybowski. “We had a freshman in that situation, and that’s a little tough.”

Both teams ended up near 40% from the field, and Aliquippa won the glass battle 43-33.

Both teams now head to the state playoffs to continue their postseason runs. Neshannock will take on District 5 runner-up Everett, while Aliquippa gets a fellow WPIAL opponent in seventh-place qualifier Chartiers-Houston. PIAA first-round action is slated for Friday.

“We need to understand we’re playing for a bigger prize now,” said Lindsey. “I told them to enjoy today and tomorrow, and we’ll get back after it Monday. We’re playing a team that’s a section champion, and I know we’re going to get a fight from them. Now we have a chance to be playing at the end of March.”

The title game ended up closely mimicking the first meeting between the two schools in the regular season, a game that took double overtime to decide.

“I wouldn’t take any other team but these kids. They are warriors. We could’ve folded and we didn’t,” said Grybowski. “I’ve got every kid back on this team. We’re not going to stop fighting.”

But, in the end, the 35-year wait to be back on top in girls basketball is over for the Quips, who enter the PIAA tournament as the WPIAL champs.

“We always hear about the boys success and the football team this, the boys that,” said Brown.

“It means everything to me. It’s not about me as far as the achievement,” said Lindsey. “I’ve got WPIAL medals as a player and an assistant coach, but I wanted it for them. Why put in all that work and not get something like this at the end of the season? Thirty-five years is a long time when you think about it. It’s a crazy thing.”

Tags: Aliquippa, Neshannock