McKeesport girls, under new coach, beat Greensburg Central Catholic

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, January 27, 2024 | 8:56 PM

Matt Miller is used to calling blitzes and cover-2s as the football coach at McKeesport.

His defensive calls Saturday night were a little different. Then again, so was the sport.

Miller, in unique circumstances after the sudden resignation this week of girls basketball coach Amy Gumbert, guided the Tigers as the acting coach.

A team that could have played distracted instead looked focused as the Tigers dumped Greensburg Central Catholic, 56-43, in the Shootout at Seton Hill.

The game was Miller’s first as a basketball coach.

“It was a blast,” he said. “Coaching is a lot easier when you have good players. They supported anything we wanted to try. I think they just wanted to get on the court. It was a trying week.”

Winners of nine of its last 10 games, McKeesport (14-2) is ranked No. 3 in WPIAL Class 5A. GCC (13-5), which had won six straight, is the No. 1 team in 2A. The Centurions were allowing 37.5 points a game.

It is unclear why Gumbert resigned. She helped build McKeesport into a title contender over the last few years, and this year’s team again has the look of a winner.

The Tigers made the WPIAL semifinals the last two years, and reached the PIAA semifinals two years ago.

Employing a high zone, the Tigers made GCC work for shots and showed their size advantage.

“We tried to get mismatches,” Miller said. “That’s a great basketball team we played. Our girls didn’t back down.”

Four players reached double figures in scoring for the Tigers. Maddie Hertzler had 14, Brooke Evans and Kaylee Charles added 11 each and Rachael Manfredo chipped in 10.

“The (coaching situation) was a nonfactor,” GCC coach Chris Skatell said. “They’re a very good team. We did a good job with their length most of the time. But they did hurt us with their length in the zone.”

GCC cut the Tigers’ lead to two twice in the third, but a 10-0 run gave McKeesport a 44-32 lead early in the fourth.

Maddie Cherepko made a 3, and Evans scored off a steal.

The 5-foot-10 Charles made a layup on a nice feed from Evans before Charles and the 6-foot Manfredo finished inside to make it 52-38.

“This shows the girls’ resilience and focus,” Miller said. “It was nice to get everyone involved.”

McKeesport made 16 of 17 free throws, including 6 of 6 in the fourth.

GCC has three wins against 6A teams but has losses to 5A Oakland Catholic and 4A North Catholic.

“It was a funky day,” Skatell said. “We didn’t want to shoot it. Once in a while, things can go sideways. It happens.”

GCC took an 18-13 lead after the first quarter thanks to seven early points from Erica Gribble.

But Gribble was limited from scoring again until the fourth. Meanwhile, Mya Morgan didn’t score until the third.

Both finished with 10 points. Avery Davis led GCC with 13 points.

Threes from Savannah Blosser and Hertzler helped the Tigers build a 27-24 edge at halftime.

GCC’s last lead was 20-17 on a layup by Cara Dupilka.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., McKeesport