Finally back in action, Knoch girls basketball takes down Highlands

By: Michael Love
Monday, January 11, 2021 | 9:23 PM

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Knoch sophomore Hattie McGraw sank her team’s first points of the season Monday with a 3-pointer just 22 seconds into a Section 1-4A home matchup against Highlands.

The Knights, who played for the first time this season after games Friday and Saturday were lost to postponement, kept pouring in the points after that and came away with a 72-29 victory.

“It was great to see them get out there and play,” Knoch coach Chris Andreassi said. “We’ve been preparing in some form or fashion since Nov. 20.

“We played well at times. But it definitely left us with things to work on. We have to rebound better, that’s for sure. That’s the one thing that stuck out. But we had some pretty good ball movement which led to some good shots.”

The Knights also had a game against Butler, scheduled for Dec. 11, nixed as Gov. Tom Wolf’s issued three-week shutdown of winter sports seasons was about to take effect.

Knoch jumped out to an 11-0 lead in Monday’s matchup and maintained that advantage as the first quarter came to a close. The Knights extended its lead to 21 points – 37-16 – at the half.

Junior Madilyn Boyer led all scorers with 18 points, while senior Nevaeh Ewing and sophomore Nina Shaw each added 15 for Knoch. Ewing (11) and Boyer (10) were in double figures by halftime, and Shaw had nine over the first 16 minutes.

“We were definitely ready for this game,” Ewing said. “We were anticipating it for a while. We’ve been working extra hard for these games, because we just don’t know how many games we will have left.”

McGraw connected on a trio of 3-pointers and finished one point shy of double figures. Knoch hit 10 total shots from behind the arc.

Highlands, which played for the third time in four days to kick off its season, got a team-best nine points from freshman Jocelyn Bielak on three 3-pointers. Junior Maria Fabregas added seven points for the Golden Rams (1-2, 0-1).

Knoch went into the fourth quarter ahead 55-29 and held Highlands off the board for the final eight minutes. As the Knights began to sub their starters, a number of reserves got the chance to get on the scoreboard.

Naturelle Ewing and Kenzie McGraw delivered 3-pointers off the bench in the fourth.

“They are a good team, and they’ve been together for a while,” Highlands coach Courtney Udanis said. “We expect them to be the favorite for the section title, so we knew they would come out and be tought to beat. They shot the ball well, especially from the outside.

“We’re a really young team, too, and there’s still a lot of learning to be done. We’re just trying to play catchup right now.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Highlands, Knoch