CWNC Girls Cruise to Record 17th WPIAL Title

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 3, 2017 | 10:04 PM

The Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojanettes (23-2) defeated the Blackhawk Cougars in impressive fashion, 65-36 to claim the WPIAL Girls 4A Championship on Friday at the Petersen Events Center.

The win is a record 17th for the Trojanettes and first since 2011. 

Blackhawk is known as a team that lives and dies by the three-pointer, but in order for them to stand a chance in this game, they would have had to shoot near perfect from the outside.

CWNC, using a distinct height advantage, displayed a complete team effort, sharing the basketball and playing as a team on both ends of the court. 

In the first quarter, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic came out hot, especially star senior Sam Breen. The Dayton recruit hit her first four shots and made presence felt early. She finished the quarter with 14 points and CWNC led 21-12. All of Blackhawk’s 12 points came by way of three-pointers, with the Trojanette’s height limiting interior chances for the Cougars.

The second quarter was much more of the same. Breen came out on fire again and defensively the Trojanettes were so active that Blackhawk was unable to generate scoring opportunities.

CWNC outscored their opponent 17-8 in the frame, and led 38-20 at the half. 

Trojanette’s coach Molly Rottmann had a decisive game plan coming in to utilize their height advantage. That was done to perfection. CWNC has three players over six feet tall (Breen, Dani Short, Kylie Huffman) compared to Blackhawk’s tallest player standing at 5’11”.

The game simply got out of hand in the second half, with Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic starting on a 16-2 run.

Blackhawk was able to limit turnovers, but could not find ways to score. Their highest scoring quarter was the first, in which they had just 12 points.

Although this game got away from them, Blackhawk’s season will continue, as they head into the PIAA Playoffs with a 16-9 record.

Cardinal Wuerl Catholic had contributions on the scoreboard from six different players, although Breen and Kylie Huffman stood out most. Breen had 34 points and 21 rebounds, moving into 12th place in WPIAL girls basketball scoring history. Huffman had 18 points and 8 rebounds.

CWNC will move into the PIAA Playoffs and will attempt to defend their crown won from Class A last season. Look for them to be a factor over the next couple of years, also. The Trojanettes are only graduating two seniors, Breen and Huffman.

Box Score:

CWNC – 65   B –  36

By quarter:
1.      CWNC – 21   B – 12
2.      CWNC – 17   B – 8
3.      CWNC – 19   B – 7
4.      CWNC – 8     B – 9

CWNC:

1 Ashley Robbins – 3 points 3 rebounds
2 Emma Pospisil – 2 points
15 Kylie Huffman – 18 points 8 rebounds
23 Tess Myers – 6 points 7 rebounds
24 Dani Short – 2 points 2 rebounds
32 Sam Breen – 34 points 21 rebounds

Blackhawk:

1 Tailyn Silver – 2 points 7 rebounds
2 Mackenzie Amalia – 9 points 3 rebounds
3 Maura Aulbach – 6 points 1 rebound
4 Madison Aulbach – 11 points 4 rebounds
11 Olivia Roberts – 3 points 1 rebound
12 Bre Hoover – 3 points 2 rebounds
13 Vanessa Potts – 2 points