Oakland Catholic firing on all cylinders in Class 5A first-round win over Kiski Area

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 | 8:08 PM

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Senior-laden Oakland Catholic didn’t waste any time in taking control of its WPIAL girls basketball Class 5A first-round game against Kiski Area on Tuesday at Fox Chapel.

The second-seeded Eagles, with four senior starters, opened a double-digit lead just five minutes into the game and rolled from there.

Senior Alexa Washington, a North Florida commit, led all scorers with 17 points as Oakland Catholic closed out a 53-16 victory over No. 15 Kiski Area.

“Overall, I think the team played with a lot of energy,” Washington said. “Our goal was to play like we did in our second game against Penn-Trafford (a 77-47 win Feb. 2). Coach (Eddie) Benton said we came out with a ton of enthusiasm. We were locked in. We don’t take any team lightly, because anything can happen in playoffs.”

Oakland Catholic, which also got 10 points from senior Halena Hill, improved to 20-3 overall and moves into the quarterfinals where it will face the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 7 Mars and No. 10 Lincoln Park in the quarterfinals on Friday at a site and time to be determined.

“Our game plan, we’re going to play fast,” Benton said. “We’re going to run and press. I thought we did a great job of that. One of the things we have to do better is limiting our turnovers. We had too many unforced turnovers. For the most part, we jumped out on them like we wanted to. Now, it is time to get ready for our next opponent.”

“I tell the girls all the time that when the playoffs roll around, it’s all about who plays the best for an hour and a half,” Benton added. “It has nothing to do with rankings or seeds. We prepare for every game like we are playing at the Pete. We just want to stay on the top of our game.”

Kiski Area, which earned a berth to the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2012, concluded its season at 9-13.

“We knew their pressure and transition offense were keys to the game and how it would go,” Kiski Area coach Dave Williamson said. “I thought if we could make it a half-court game and not a full-court affair, we would have a chance. We did our best to replicate their length, speed and talent in practice, but it’s hard.”

“Early on, we got to the rim, but we missed some layups and then had some unforced errors,” Williamson continued. “They did some things against us, but we also could’ve done our part. We would get one look while they got multiple on their end. It snowballed from there. But the girls hustled and played hard the whole game. The effort was there.”

Senior Lexi Colaianni, a Penn State-Altoona commit and the only senior in the regular rotation of seven or eight players, led Kiski Area with nine points, all from 3-point range.

She was taken out of the game with 1:22 left and received a rousing ovation from the Cavaliers faithful.

“Lexi has been through a lot with injuries, and this is the first full season she’s played,” Williamson said. “She was banged up all year, and she battled through. I was so happy to see her finish one out and help get us here.

“The other seniors (Lorelei Oshidari, Madison Bachar and Sydney Joyce), they came back and gave us some good depth. It was great to get them on the court at the end.”

Junior Abigail Johns added four points for the Cavaliers.

A 3-pointer from Washington – she had five in the game – with 6:13 left in the third quarter extended the Eagles lead to 38-8 and put the 30-point mercy rule running clock into effect.

Oakland Catholic jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on a 3-pointer from Hill just 23 seconds into the game and layups from seniors Rachel Haver and Jill Gallo.

Johns got Kiski Area on the board with a sharp cut to the basket and layup at the 5:00 mark.

But the Eagles’ pressure forced several Cavaliers turnovers, and the lead swelled.

Oakland Catholic didn’t allow Kiski to get in to rhythm over the rest of the quarter, and the Eagles led 22-2 after the first eight minutes.

Colaianni gave the Cavaliers a spark early in the second with a pair of 3-pointers to cut into the deficit. But Kiski Area was not able to put up any more points before halftime and the Eagles defense stiffened once again.

Oakland Catholic closed the half on a 13-0 run. Washington hit two 3-pointers and added a pair of foul shots for eight in the quarter and 14 total at the break.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Kiski Area, Oakland Catholic