Graytok scores 29 as Latrobe girls win ‘Backyard Brawl’ over Hempfield

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, January 4, 2018 | 10:43 PM

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Latrobe senior guard Laura Graytok wasn't about to let her team lose the latest installment of what the Wildcats call, “The Backyard Brawl.”

“Rankings don't mean anything when we play Hempfield,” Graytok said. “It's always a battle.”

Graytok's 29 points helped propel the No. 5 Wildcats to a 62-57 victory over the Spartans in a Section 2-6A game Thursday night.

The American University recruit spent most of the night slashing to the rim and finishing, and Hempfield could not stop her.

“Hempfield took away her outside shot so she went to the basket,” Latrobe coach Mark Burkhardt said. “She is a Division I player. She took what they gave her.”

Latrobe (7-2, 3-0) stays in first place in the section. Junior Carly Augustine added nine points, and senior Shelby Wetzel had seven in the win.

Hempfield (4-5, 1-1) got 19 points from senior Allison Podkul, 12 from junior Sarah Golden and 11 from junior Jessica Persin.

“We couldn't find an answer for (Graytok),” Hempfield first-year coach Lindsy Muchnock said. “Our help was late on rotations and we weren't where we needed to be. She is a great player.”

Playing just its second home game of the season, Latrobe spoiled a homecoming for Muchnock, a Latrobe graduate.

“I played here and coached here for two years,” Muchnock said. “It was exciting to come back. It was a great atmosphere. It would have been nice to win, but it was also nice to know we played well.”

Hempfield, playing with confidence after a victory against Class 5A No. 2 Chartiers Valley, never led against the Wildcats, only tying the score twice in the fourth quarter.

“Our girls showed tremendous poise,” Burkhardt said. “They didn't get rattled, and that is something previous teams might have done.”

Latrobe took a 29-23 lead into the break, thanks to a number of driving layups and extra passes. The Wildcats found space to get to the rim, either scoring or dishing to teammates.

Graytok and junior Kayla White made uncontested shots in the paint, White the recipient of dish-offs from Wetzel.

Graytok's basket at the 6:22 mark of the second quarter gave the Wildcats their largest lead, at 19-9.

The advantage reached 10 three times in the third.

But a pair of 3-pointers by Persin led the Spartans back. Podkul's hoop inside with 35.1 seconds left in the third got the Spartans within 45-44. Graytok scored nine in the third. She finished 7 of 8 from the foul line.

Kayla Barrientos-Collins' free throws finally allowed the Spartans to pull even, at 49-49, with 6:46 left in the fourth.

Golden tied it again for Hempfield (53-53) with two more foul shots with 4:04 left. But junior Bethany Havrilla's steal-and-score put Latrobe back on top.

Hempfield was 16 of 23 on free throws.

Latrobe tried to use some clock and Graytok was called for a charge at the 1:56 mark, but she quickly made up for it with her own steal and layup to make it 57-53.

Golden hit a long jumper late for the Spartans, but Latrobe iced it with free throws.

“It's great to be 3-0 in the section because we haven't done that before,” Graytok said. “We just need to keep our confidence up.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Hempfield Area, Latrobe