Round 1 of heavyweight clash between Shady Side Academy and Greensburg Central Catholic girls goes to SSA

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, January 8, 2026 | 10:11 PM

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Greensburg Central Catholic was making its final push.

Down 11 with seven minutes play, the second-ranked Centurions shaved the margin to three against No. 1 Shady Side Academy.

But senior point guard Karis Thomas settled the offense, slowed the team’s heartbeat and tempered her Shady Side Academy teammates.

Round 1 went to the Bulldogs, who held on for a 66-59 road victory Thursday night in the Section 2-3A girls basketball rivals’ first matchup since last year’s WPIAL championship.

“We’re so lucky to have her,” Bulldogs coach Jonna Burke said of Thomas, who has more than 1,700 career points. “When the game is close like that, there really isn’t anyone else you want with the ball in her hands.

“This was a great high school game. Two good teams really going after it. We’ve become rivals. This is a tough gym to play in. It was like a heavyweight fight.”

Thomas, a Purdue Fort Wayne commit, scored a game-high 28 points, making 14 of 15 free throws, as the Bulldogs (11-2, 6-0) took sole possession of first place and gained a measure of revenge against the defending champion Centurions (8-4, 5-1), who won the 2A title two years ago.

Shady Side Academy was the 3A champ two seasons back.

“That fueled our fire,” Thomas said of the 55-51 title-game loss. “As a captain, my job is to take control and slow the game down and handle that pressure. GCC is a great team, and we wanted to slow their pace.”

Both teams showcased their Division I point guards. Erica Gribble, a Richmond commit with more than 1,900 career points, finished with 26.

Thomas hit a 3 and then scored off a steal to push the lead to 60-53.

The Bulldogs didn’t have a field goal inside the final three minutes, and GCC made a run with senior Jayla Peterson scoring from the baseline and senior Abby Dlugos connecting on a spinning bank shot to close the gap to 62-59 with 2:06 left.

Thomas did all the scoring from there as two GCC possessions came up empty, making four free throws for the final points.

“This was one of our best games, but we can play better,” Thomas said.

Thomas missed her first free throw in the second quarter but made 14 straight — she was 11 for 11 in the second half — to help hold back GCC and Gribble, who had 31 against the Bulldogs last year in the district final at Petersen Events Center.

“She missed, and I’m like, OK, she’s human,” Burke said of Thomas. “She shoots over 90%.”

The coach sang the praises of Gribble, who was held to five points in the fourth.

“She is so good,” Burke said. “How is that kid better than she was last year? I am continually impressed with her. She annihilated us in the first half.”

Peterson added 11 points, and junior Nolan Althof added 10 for GCC, including a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter.

Shady Side Academy employed a triangle-and-2 defense against Gribble and Peterson, and the plan helped in the third when the duo combined for four points.

Gribble had three 3s and was 5 of 5 at the free-throw line.

“It’s like pick your poison with those two,” Burke said. “Like Whack-a-Mole. They are a championship team and have great players.”

The game had 13 lead changes, but GCC trailed after every quarter.

Gribble and Peterson played all 32 minutes.

“It’s a compliment, right, when someone plays a junk defense against you?” GCC coach Chris Skatell said. “It came down to turnovers, free throws, the little things. We saw the things we need to fix. I thought we did a great job on (Cassie) Sauer in the second half. And if Thomas only beats us with free throws, we’re all right with that.”

Senior 6-foot-2 forward Sauer, a Chicago commit who missed last year’s WPIAL final with a hip injury, was back for the Bulldogs. She scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Five was the largest lead of the first half.

Freshman Morgan Kane, who scored 11 points for the Bulldogs, made it 15-10 off a steal.

Gribble, who had 12 in the first quarter, and junior Leah Buford traded baskets as Shady Side Academy led 19-18 after one quarter.

Althof’s back-to-back 3s gave GCC a 30-25 edge in the second. Thomas hit a 3 — part of a 9-0 run — to put the Bulldogs back in front, and junior Morgan Skoloda made a 3 for GCC before Karis’ 3 made it 37-33 at the half.

A back-and-forth third saw Thomas score 11 and Gribble seven. Peterson’s floater gave GCC a 45-42 lead. Thomas scored six straight and assisted a layup by Kane to make it 53-47 going to the fourth.

Thomas delivered a pass to freshman Jocelyn Long to extend the margin to 57-47 early in the fourth.

Gribble scored five straight, and Althof made a layup for a 60-55 deficit with four minute left.

“We have to keep getting better,” Skatell said. “Our bench needs to be better. They showed some good stuff, but we need contributions from all eight.

“You never like to lose a game, especially one like that. We’ll work on things and get it right.”

The Bulldogs finished 23 of 30 on free throws. GCC was 8 of 14.

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