No. 1 Vincentian Academy too much for No. 4 Leechburg in Class 2A matchup

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 29, 2018 | 11:58 PM

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The Leechburg girls basketball team had won seven in a row heading into Monday's Section 2-2A matchup with No. 1 Vincentian Academy.

The No. 4 Blue Devils' last loss was by 18 points to the Royals on Jan. 4.

Leechburg wanted a different outcome this time, but Vincentian didn't budge from its seat at the top of the section and classification.

All five Royals starters scored in double figures, led by 15 points and 15 rebounds from Katie Bartlett, in a 65-45 victory.

“With the success Vincentian has, with all of their scoring, speed, rebounding ability and a deep bench, you have to bring your ‘A' game for four quarters every time,” Leechburg coach Joel Ceraso said.

“We had trouble boxing them out early and also had trouble scoring, and that got us in a hole.”

Vincentian raced out to a 9-0 lead and extended the advantage to 19-5 by the end of the first quarter.

Leecburg trailed 24-9 with 5 minutes, 21 seconds to go before halftime before it made a 12-2 run. Brittany Robilio hit a pair of 3-pointers, and Mikayla Lovelace added a jumper and went 4 of 5 from the free-throw line.

But Marina Eyster hit a jumper with 10 seconds left to quiet the home crowd, and the Royals regained momentum by scoring the first six points of the second half.

“The girls proved that they can play with a team like Vincentian, but they have enough talent to withstand that kind of a run,” Ceraso said.

The Royals' lead swelled to 22 late in the third quarter before Leechburg made a final push.

Robilio closed the third quarter with a 3-pointer. A layup from Daesha Knight began the fourth, and a three-point play by Lovelace followed as the Blue Devils cut it to 14 with 7 minutes left.

But an 11-2 Vincentian run over the next five minutes secured the victory.

The Royals (16-1, 11-0) finished with a sizeable advantage on the boards. They picked up a number of second-chance points while limiting the Blue Devils' opportunities.

“We felt the team that was going to win the rebounding battle was going to win the game. It was that important,” Vincentian coach Ron Moncrief said.

In addition to Bartlett's big night, Olivia O'Brien and Alana Winkler scored 12 points each, and Caroline Elliott and Marina Eyster tallied 11 points apiece. Elliott pulled down seven rebounds, and O'Brien, Eyster and reserve Hannah Katz had five each.

“Leechburg is a very good, well-coached team,” Moncrief said. “We knew coming in here would be tough with this environment. But the girls played really hard, and I am very proud of their effort.”

Lovelace paced Leechburg with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Robilio made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points.

Leechburg will focus its attention on the final three section games, beginning with a road contest against Sto-Rox on Thursday.

The Blue Devils, 9-2 in the section and 14-3 overall, visit Springdale next Monday before the section finale with Brentwood at home Feb. 8.

Brentwood kept pace in the standings at 9-2 with a 61-28 win Monday at Northgate. Leechburg won the first meeting with the Spartans, 70-60, on Jan. 16.

“We always talk about staying in the moment and taking care of what's in front of us,” Ceraso said. “There are things to learn from this game, but we don't want to let it set us back.

“We had been playing pretty good basketball the last two or three weeks.”

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Leechburg, Vincentian Academy