Greensburg Central Catholic girls roll over Bellwood-Antis in PIAA opener

By: Dave Mackall
Friday, March 8, 2024 | 11:01 PM

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The Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball team did a lot of talking on its home court Friday night, but it had nothing to do with trash. The WPIAL champion Centurions were in sync for a first-round PIAA Class 2A test that resulted in another impressive performance for the state’s second-ranked team.

Just ask GCC coach Chris Skatell.

“We talked and communicated well on defense, and that made a big difference,” he said after GCC rode 20 points from Erica Gribble and 16 from Mya Morgan to a 59-27 rout of Bellwood-Antis into the second round against West Middlesex on Tuesday.

“The talking was big for us, and these girls are pretty good at it. This group, for the most part, has been together since last year,” Skatell said.

GCC (21-6), which won for the fifth time in a row, is hoping to exceed the success of a 2023 season that saw the Centurions reach the state semifinals.

The next step comes Tuesday night against District 10 third-place finisher West Middlesex, a 38-36 first-round winner over District 9 runner-up Moniteau. If GCC is to continue its march, the talking likely will continue.

“We just know how to work together well,” Morgan said. “We know the style of play we each have, and we work that in together. There’s times in the game when, for example, I’ll know what Erica is going to do, and I’m already looking for her. When she or any of the others finish, it ends up being a good pass and we get a good assist out of it.”

That was the theme in their latest encounter. The Centurions had their way with Bellwood-Antis, the fourth-place team from District 6, which lately has enjoyed success of its own.

The Blue Devils, under coach Kyley Longo, won back-to-back PIAA titles in 2018 and ’19 and reached the semifinals in 2022, losing to Neshannock.

“We’ve been in their shoes, too,” Longo said, referring to GCC. “We’ve seen both ends of that spectrum. We’ve seen that success, and some of these kids have been a part of that. A lot of our kids are young, and we’re just figuring it out as we go.”

Bellwood-Antis (15-11) started just one senior this season. Against GCC, sophomore Lilly Gerwert led the Blue Devils with 11 points.

“When you watch them on film, you know they’re well-coached, and when you see them in person, they are,” Skatell said. “I knew they’d play hard by just by watching (Longo) coach.”

Greensburg Central Catholic finished the first quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 17-5 lead and scored the first basket of the second quarter to increase its advantage before Bellwood-Antis scored the next seven points and got within 19-12.

But that was as close as the Blue Devils got. GCC enjoyed a 24-12 lead at halftime.

The Centurions put the game out of reach by opening the third quarter on a 16-1 run to surge to a 40-13 lead. Their biggest margin came near the end of the game, when they led by 35 points (59-24).

“Nerves probably got the best of us,” Longo said. “Gribble, obviously, is a gereat player. We know she’s gotten a lot of college looks. And I was very impressed with Morgan, who is big, strong kid. It’s obvious their players have a very high basketball IQ, and they have a lot of kids that can score.”

Gribble, a sophomore, leads the way. But she’s got a lot of support, including from Morgan, whose pinpoint passes led to numerous GCC baskets.

“The ball she gave to Erica when Erica finished on a reverse,” Skatell said, “that’s next level stuff. That was fantastic.”

Tags: Greensburg C.C.