Bishop Canevin girls fall to Neumann-Goretti in PIAA title game for 2nd straight season

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, March 26, 2018 | 8:03 PM

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HERSHEY — There's no reason to feel embarrassed or ashamed after Monday's championship loss to Neumann-Goretti, said Bishop Canevin coach Scott Dibble, at least not for anyone associated with his basketball program.

Canevin junior Shamyjha Price scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed a one-point lead just before halftime, but her Crusaders weren't able to end Neumann-Goretti's reign. With a dominant second half, the Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse won its fourth consecutive state title with a 63-46 victory over Canevin in the PIAA Class 3A final at Giant Center in Hershey.

Neumann-Goretti also defeated Canevin last year, a six-point championship loss when Dibble was a Crusaders' assistant.

“The bottom line is, we did it the right way,” Dibble said, “and you can put that in bold letters. We did it the right way, and there's something to be said for that.”

Dibble's words were a less-than-subtle jab at Neumann-Goretti, which added a star transfer from Virginia in February, the latest standout to enroll at the school. The Saints' newcomer, sophomore guard Diamond Johnson, had 14 points, five assists, six rebounds and three steals in Monday's win.

Tatiana Jones led Neumann-Goretti with 17 points, and Daijah Parmley added 10.

“Our kids all came from Catholic grade schools right in my neighborhood,” Dibble added. “That's where they all come from. They all work hard and we do it the right way. Didn't give them any money. Did none of the above. We did it the right way.”

WPIAL champion Bishop Canevin (24-5) held the lead just once, 21-20 after a layup and foul shot by Price with 58 seconds left in the first half. But Canevin turned it over on its next two possessions and Neumann-Goretti scored twice to lead 24-21 at half.

The Crusaders had 25 turnovers, and Neumann-Goretti converted them into 30 points.

“If we could have fixed those turnovers, we would have been OK,” Price said. “It was just the turnovers.”

Nobody on Canevin's roster besides Price scored more than four points, but she kept the Crusaders competitive into the second half. The 5-foot-9 junior made 11 of 20 shots from the field, went 9 for 11 at the foul line and scored her 1,000th career point in the third quarter.

“She came to play,” Dibble said. “She's the type of kid that plays with a lot of emotion and a lot of energy. She gets tired at times but powers through it. She's a tremendous athlete. Heck, if she didn't play the way she played, we might have lost by 50.”

With 3:34 left in the third, Canevin trailed 29-28 after two free throws by Price. But Neumann-Goretti scored the next eight points, used five turnovers to spark a 14-2 run that stretched into the fourth and led 43-30.

“They're deep, they're big, they're athletic, they do it all well,” Dibble said. “Eventually that stuff catches up with you in big-time games like that. They wore us down down the stretch.”

Neumann-Goretti played a man-to-man defense in the first half, but switched to a 2-3 zone in the second while trying to slow down Price, who was causing mismatches inside.

Bishop Canevin was outscored 13-7 in the third and 26-18 in the fourth.

“Our tempo picked up and theirs kind of slowed down,” NG coach Andrea Peterson said. “Defense leads to offense, and I've been preaching that all year. I think it showed today in the third quarter.”

Neumann-Goretti held Canevin's leading scorer to two points. Senior Bri Allen averaged 15 this season but finished just 1 of 4 shooting.

“They did a great job defending Brionna,” Dibble said. “She's one of our best players, a tremendous athlete and they took her away. Good teams do that. They scout well. They knew Brionna's our leading scorer, and they shut her down.”

Canevin lacked the scoring balance that Neumann-Goretti found with Johnson and Jones, a 5-11 junior forward.

Johnson's arrival in Philadelphia drew critics from across the state. Before her transfer, the 5-6 point guard had played 19 games and averaged 33 points for Phoebus High School in Hampton, Va. She played 23 minutes off the bench and made 7 of 16 shots.

“People are going to have their own opinion, people are going to judge,” Peterson said. “Everybody has a story, that's all I'm going to say. We did what we were supposed to.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Bishop Canevin