Char Valley Avenges Loss, Beats Oak Cath for WPIAL 5-A Girls Crown

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, March 4, 2017 | 6:22 PM

Ever since losing to Oakland Catholic in a non-section game back on January 21st, Chartiers Valley has had one word on their mind. Redemption.

Six weeks and 11 straight victories later, and the Lady Colts have completed that redemption. A stifling defense that limited Oakland Catholic to ten second-half points, coupled with clutch shooting from beyond the arc and at the free throw line, allowed Chartiers Valley to pull away late with a 52-36 victory in the WPIAL 5A Championship Game.

Since that 44-31 defeat in Oakland, it has been a brand new mindset for Chartiers Valley. Everything for the Lady Colts and head coach Dan Slain has been about defense since then. The six-seed in the Class 5A Tournament, Chartiers Valley completed the Path to the Pete and got their chance at a rematch with Oakland Catholic. And, fittingly enough, with the rematch in Oakland at the Petersen Events Center.
The defensive mindset proved pivotal in the contest, as Chartiers Valley forced 22 Lady Eagle turnovers in the game, and held Oakland Catholic to only three made field goals in the second half.

It was a slow start to the contest for both teams, with neither squad having much success finding the basket. A quick 5-0 run gave Chartiers Valley a 7-6 advantage midway through the first quarter, and then the offenses lit up the scoreboard for the remainder of the quarter. The teams flip-flopped the lead six times in the opening stanza, with Oakland Catholic taking a 13-12 lead after one.

More of the same back-and-forth action began the second quarter, until Oakland Catholic rattled off a quick 6-0 run to extend their lead. The Lady Eagles led by as many as eight points at 25-17, much due to good ball movement and working the ball into the paint. Juliana Skowron had six points in the second quarter for Oakland Catholic, two of her field goals coming on second-chance efforts.

Chartiers Valley struggled mightily on the boards, getting outrebounded nearly two-to-one in the first half.  Megan McConnell nearly went coast-to-coast at the end of the half, but was called for a charge as the buzzer sounded, and the Lady Eagles would take a 26-19 lead into the locker room.

Oakland Catholic led throughout the third quarter, but Chartiers Valley closed the gap throughout the stanza. After hitting only one three-pointer in the first half, the lid came off of the bucket for the Lady Colts. McConnell drilled back-to-back 3’s immediately to start the second half, followed by a clutch three-pointer in the corner from Lauren Wagner to tie the game at 28-28 midway through the third quarter. Wagner had missed most of the first half with two early fouls. Oakland Catholic would respond with a three ball as well from Alexis Sestic, and the Lady Eagles would maintain a 33-32 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

From there, it was all Chartiers Valley. Wagner hit another clutch three from the corner with 7:10 remaining to give her team the lead 35-33. It was a lead the Lady Colts would not relinquish. The final seven minutes became the Mackenzie Wagner Show, and she sliced and diced around Oakland Catholic defenders and made crisp passes to open teammates. She also dominated from the free throw line, going 13-13 in the contest from the charity stripe, including 6-6 in the fourth quarter.

The defense for the Lady Colts was spectacular all game, but it was at its best in the fourth quarter. They held Oakland Catholic to only three points in the final frame, and also forced six turnovers in the final eight minutes. The Lady Eagles committed 22 total turnovers in the contest, compared to 11 for Chartiers Valley.  Turnovers and quality free throw shooting (19-23 in the game as a team) powered Chartiers Valley to a 20-3 differential in the final frame, and a 52-36 final score.

Sophomore Mackenzie Wagner led all scorers with 19 points. She also snagged a game-high eight rebounds for the Colts. Freshman Megan McConnell followed with 16 points, including four three-pointers. Lauren Wagner shook off the foul trouble and finished with nine points, eight coming in the second half.  Abbey Collins, the only senior on the Chartiers Valley roster, only scored two points, but she provided three steals and four assists in the game.  The Lady Colts exited the Petersen Events Center floor with chants of “Abbey! Abbey!” in support of their senior captain.

Oakland Catholic was led in scoring by senior Hayley Zoglmann with eight points. Alexis Sestic followed with seven, with Gabby Gevaudan and Julianna Skowron each supplied six. The Lady Eagles finish the WPIAL season with a 22-4  record. They will represent the WPIAL as the 2-seed out of the district in the PIAA Tournament. They will take on Harbor Creek, the 3-seed out of District 10, on Saturday, March 11th.

While redemption was the main topic in today’s contest, redemption for the Lady Colts actually began a week earlier when Chartiers Valley defeated section rival South Fayette in a quarterfinal “rubber match” after the teams split the regular season. Redemption continued in the semifinals, as they defeated Trinity 47-35, avenging their loss to the Hillers back in December. All four playoff contests for Chartiers Valley were rematches from regular season contests.

Chartiers Valley (20-6) will now take an 11-game winning streak into the PIAA Tournament. They will face Hickory, the 4-seed out of District 10, on Saturday, March 11th.

The WPIAL Championship for Chartiers Valley was their first in program history. They lost in the quarterfinals last year to eventual champion South Fayette, they lost the year before in the quarterfinals to eventual WPIAL and PIAA champion Blackhawk, and they lost to Bethel Park in the WPIAL Championship back in 2012. The Lady Colts have always been close, but been left with a bad taste in their mouths. That sour taste can now go away. Redemption achieved.

Score by Quarter:

Chartiers Valley     12  –  19  –  13  –  20  —-  52
Oakland Catholic   13  –  13  –  7    –  3    —-  36

Tags: Chartiers Valley