Defending champion Neshannock stops Serra Catholic to return to Class 2A final

By: Jose Negron
Monday, February 28, 2022 | 9:59 PM

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For the second consecutive season, Serra Catholic had its WPIAL championship hopes dashed at the hands of Neshannock.

The third-seeded Eagles hung with the defending district champions for three quarters before the second-seeded Lancers pulled away in the fourth en route to a 41-23 triumph in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals at North Allegheny Monday night.

Neshannock (23-2), which beat Serra in last year’s WPIAL championship game, led 27-21 heading into the fourth quarter before outscoring the Eagles by a 14-2 margin in the final eight minutes.

The Lancers will now play in the WPIAL title game for the third time in four years.

“We took the lead there at one point, then they did what champions do and they put their foot on the gas,” Serra Catholic coach Matt Bacco said. “They have experience and we just couldn’t punch back after that.”

After a low-scoring, turnover-filled first half, Neshannock held a slim 14-9 lead heading into halftime.

The Eagles (20-2), though, came out of the break with a momentum-shifting run, scoring the first nine points to take their first lead at 18-14.

Four players scored during the spurt as Macey McCullough scored inside before a 3-pointer by Cate Clarke tied the game. Caitlyn Cooley later scored in transition for two of her team-high nine points, pushing the Eagles in front. A putback by Bri Battles capped off the run and made it a two-possession game.

“It’s a good game for our kids to get much-needed experience,” Bacco said. “Our goal tonight was just to come in and throw everything we had at them. I was proud that our kids hung with them punch for punch for the better part of three-plus quarters.”

Despite being held scoreless for nearly five minutes in the third quarter, Neshannock got things going when Mairan Haggerty followed up a steal with a bucket to cut the deficit to two with 3:12 remaining.

Haggerty’s basket kickstarted an 11-0 run that the Lancers used to take a 25-18 lead with under a minute to go in the frame. Haggerty added a big 3 during the spurt as did Aaralyn Nogay. Both players finished with a team-high 11 points, while Megan Pallerino added 10.

“We switched things up defensively in the second half and went into the half-court trap a little bit,” Neshannock coach Luann Grybowski said. “Aaralyn hit a big shot and Mairan hit a big 3 out of an out-of-bounds play to help us there. We always look for different kids to contribute every game, and those two are two of our go-to kids.”

Nogay helped put things out of reach in the fourth quarter as she hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first two minutes to extend Neshannock’s lead to 33-21.

Addilae Watts went 2 for 2 from the free throw line and Pallerino added a layup to extend the advantage before Serra scored its lone points of the quarter on an inside bucket from Battles.

Neshannock kept Serra’s offense at bay in the final minutes and maintained a strong edge on the glass late to preserve the win.

“They were first to loose balls and they were real active on the offensive glass, and that was the difference in the game,” Bacco said. “We talked about it and showed them the numerous hustle plays that they make. I told our girls we needed to exceed their level of effort and it didn’t happen.”

Turnovers played a big role in the first half as the teams combined for nearly 30.

Neshannock had six and Serra had 10 in the first quarter, including five in the first three minutes of the game.

Miscues on the part of the Eagles were a big reason why the Lancers were able to use a 7-0 run to take a 9-4 lead after one.

“Early in the game, we had opportunities to turn a lot of their turnovers into points, and then we would just turn it right back over,” Bacco said. “That just goes to the inexperience we do have.”

The second quarter included more combined turnovers (11) than overall points (10) as Neshannock maintained a five-point edge after 16 minutes.

The Lancers held an 11-9 lead for more than five minutes as neither team found a way to generate offense. Finally, a late 3 by Haggerty turned the tide and gave Neshannock momentum heading into the break.

While Serra Catholic will await the start of the PIAA playoffs, the Lancers will take on top-seeded Our Lady of Sacred Heart in the Class 2A championship game at 3 p.m. Friday at the Petersen Events Center.

The two Section 1 foes split their regular season series with the home team winning each matchup.

Tags: Neshannock, Serra Catholic