Courtney Dahlquist pushes top-seeded Trinity past Woodland Hills, back to title game

By: Don Rebel
Thursday, March 11, 2021 | 10:32 PM

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Woodland Hills knew it needed to play a near-perfect game to have a chance in its WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball semifinal against top-seeded Trinity.

Digging themselves a huge early hole was a trap these Wolverines could not escape.

Senior Courtney Dahlquist scored a game-high 21 points, including 11 in the first quarter, as Trinity scored the game’s first 19 points on the way to a 74-53 victory that secures a berth in the district title game for a second straight year.

It is also the second straight year the Hillers beat the Wolverines in the WPIAL semifinals, winning last year, 50-33.

The 6-foot-1 Dahlquist showed off her skill set in a huge opening quarter with good work on the blocks, terrific defense and rebounding and nailing three 3-pointers.

“She’s really worked on (3-pointers). That’s something that was not part of her repertoire when we got here,” second-year Trinity coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. “She expressed a desire to shoot the ball from the perimeter so that when she gets to the next level, she has more versatility. So she put in the time. She’s constantly in the gym volume shooting.

“Tonight, fortunately, they went down for her.”

The next level begins next year for Dahlquist at Campbell University.

Everything Trinity did in the first five minutes of the game to build the 19-point lead was crisp and on the mark.

“They practice that way,” McConnell-Miller said. “We do simple drills in practice and they go 100%. They’re always prepared, and they’re always game ready. Crisp passes, they run hard, they cut hard. To see them come out and perform the way they did really warmed my heart.”

Woodland Hills did not surrender after the red-hot start by Trinity. Down 19-0, the Wolverines went on a 13-2 run that pulled them to within eight.

While the Wolverines did a better job slowing down Dahlquist after the first quarter, the rest of the Hillers starters spread the scoring as Trinity led 33-22 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Woodland Hills star senior Peyton Pinkney picked up her game. She was held to only five points in the first half but kept the Wolverines in the game with a quick scoring start in the third quarter.

However, Trinity kept coming in droves and Woodland Hills could never get closer than eight points.

Pinkney finished with 15 points in her final game for Woodland Hills (13-7), while junior Jazmine Dunn scored 12 points and freshman Hope Hawkins added 11.

Trinity (21-1) had five players in double figures led by Dahlquist. Senior Kaylin Venick and junior Alyssa Clutter scored 12 points each, sophomore Eden Williamson off the bench scored 11, and senior Ashley Durig scored 10.

“I give all the credit to the girls,” McConnell-Miller said. “They were great tonight. They were prepared. They were excited about this game. They’ve worked so hard in the offseason, and I told them tonight, ‘This is a product of that offseason.’”

Now it’s rematch time in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game as top-seeded Trinity will face McConnell-Miller’s brother Tim and two-time defending champion Chartiers Valley on Monday.

“We’re looking for a different outcome,” McConnell-Miller said after her Hillers lost to the Colts last year. “They’re just so talented, and he’s such a good coach. I haven’t thought about this game, we’ve been taking it one game at a time, but now it’s here. It’s exciting.”

Watch an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.

Tags: Trinity, Woodland Hills