Return visit to The Pete no less exciting for Greensburg Central Catholic girls
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Wednesday, February 26, 2025 | 11:01 AM
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Jayla Peterson scores past Shady Side Academy’s Karis Thomas and Cam Capel on Feb. 3.
Shady Side Academy’s Karis Thomas is fouled by Greensburg Central Catholic’s Erica Gribble during their game last month.
Jayla Peterson did not get the full “Pete” experience last year.
The junior guard from Greensburg Central Catholic injured her ankle in the first quarter of the WPIAL Class 2A championship game and never returned, spending the rest of the game on the bench next to a pair of crutches.
She hobbled to the trophy presentation as GCC celebrated a title.
But Peterson will get another chance to have an impact in the finals when No. 2 seed Greensburg Central Catholic (20-5) takes on No. 1 Shady Side Academy (24-0) for the Class 3A title at 7 p.m. Thursday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.
“I wanted the experience again,” Peterson said. “It’s exciting for us to get back there.”
Defense wins championships, as the saying goes, and GCC will look to carry momentum from its latest win into the finals.
GCC put on a defensive clinic in the semifinals against No. 3 OLSH, holding the Chargers without a field goal for more than 20 minutes — second quarter to fourth — in a 41-18 victory.
“We stayed connected to each other,” Peterson said. “We had great help-side defense. We were all on a string together.”
Erica Gribble, GCC’s 1,500-point scorer who is headed to Richmond, and Peterson are returning starters from last year’s run.
GCC was moved up a classification by the PIAA, but the expectation didn’t change.
“We adjusted well to 3A,” GCC coach Chris Skatell said. “I knew we’d have a whole new team, but we had a chance to be OK.”
The Centurions will try to win their seventh WPIAL title. They won back-to-back championships in 2006 and ’07.
But Shady Side Academy, which beat GCC twice during the section season, is the defending champion and packs a punch offensively with guard Karis Thomas and forward Cassie Sauer, both of whom had big games against the Centurions.
Thomas is coming off a heater. She erupted for a career-high 46 points — and 9 of 11 3-pointers — in a 69-33 win over Ellwood City on Saturday.
Sauer, however, was on crutches with a lower-body injury and did not play against Ellwood City.
If Sauer does not play, GCC’s game plan changes.
“We need to shoot it better and defend the post better,” Skatell said. “Someone has to box out Sauer. If we can (minimize) her (or if she doesn’t play), it’s even.”
In last year’s final, Gribble scored 28 points on 9-of-18 shooting and made 5 of 7 3-pointers.
Abby Dlugos, who will miss the final with an injury, grabbed 14 rebounds against Serra at the Pete. GCC won 62-41.
Nolan Althof and Avery Jones also saw limited time in last year’s title game.
Jones, who had a career-high 14 points in the semifinal win, hopes to have a greater impact in a repeat.
“I am looking forward to the environment,” Jones said. “We have to lock down their main scorers.”
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., Shady Side Academy
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