Neshannock turns up intensity, beats Sewickley Academy in Class 2A semifinals

By: James Dotson
Tuesday, March 9, 2021 | 10:24 PM

For the second time in three years, Neshannock is headed to the WPIAL championship game.

The top-seeded Lancers outscored fourth-seeded Sewickley Academy 31-10 in the second half Tuesday en route to a 47-26 home victory in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals.

The section foes split their regular season meetings, each winning on the road. In the postseason rubber match, with just 50 boisterous fans in the stands, the Lady Lancers took control in the second half.

“Best fans around!” coach Luann Grybowski screamed to the Lancers faithful in red and white as she exited the court.

“We’re only allowed to sell 50 tickets, and they were louder than if we had this place packed,” she said. “They are the best fans ever. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

The home-court advantage paid dividends for Neshannock in this battle of two of the top two defenses in the WPIAL. The score was tied 16-16 at halftime, but the defensive intensity only increased in the second half. Neither team scored a field goal until a Mia DelVecchio basket with 4 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter gave Sewickley Academy an 18-17 lead. It was the last time the Lady Panthers held a lead.

Thirty seconds later, Hunter Newsome, playing in her first game of the playoffs after returning from a shoulder injury, got a steal and passed it ahead to Neleh Nogay for a transition layup to give Neshannock the lead for good.

With 3:27 left in the third quarter and holding the 19-18 lead, Neshannock was inbounding in their offensive end of the court when Sewickley’s Bre Warner was charged with a technical foul after getting tangled up with Addi Watts.

Nogay hit one of the two free throws, but the momentum swung to Neshannock after the foul. Mairan Haggerty got a layup, and Megan Pallerino followed with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to seven.

Nogay would hit a 3-pointer a minute later, and then Haggerty banked in a 30-footer at the buzzer to end the quarter on a 12-2 run for Neshannock.

“Every day at the end of practice, they shoot those (half-court shots),” Grybowski said. “Somebody has to make one before they leave. So I know in that point in time, she has the confidence to shoot it.”

With Neshannock leading 31-20 to start the fourth quarter, Sewickley Academy’s Kamryn Lightfoot got the first bucket of the fourth quarter to cut the lead back to single digits. Aaralyn Nogay responded less than a minute later with her third three-pointer of the contest for Neshannock to extend the lead back to 12.

Neshannock held Sewickley Academy to 10 points in the second half. The Panthers grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, nine by Desirae Nance, but struggled to convert on many of their second- and third-chance efforts.

“It’s contagious,” Sewickley Academy coach Mark Gaither said. “It was just one of those nights. It feels bad to go out like that. But that’s a good team. They’re physical, they’re strong, they shoot the ball, they defend, they rebound. Nogay and Haggerty are two legit high school players.”

Neleh Nogay finished with 18 points, including 7 of 10 from the free-throw line, to lead Neshannock. Aaralyn Nogay followed with nine, and Mairan Haggerty with eight.

Nance and Lightcap each had eight points for Sewickley Academy (13-6). The Panthers graduate five seniors.

“These seniors on our team have been phenomenal,” Gaither said. “To go to the WPIAL semifinals two years in a row, jump up to Double-A and still do the same thing.”

Neshannock (16-2) returns to the championship game after winning Class 3A in 2019. They will take on 2-seed Serra Catholic, an overtime victor over Winchester Thurston, in the championship game at 5 p.m. Friday at North Allegheny.

It will be a challenge Neshannock, with no seniors on the roster, will relish. No doubt, though, the Lancers will be prepared.

“I’ll be up all night watching film,” Grybowski said.

Tags: Neshannock, Sewickley Academy