St. Joseph girls fall to Farrell in PIAA tourney after refs clear gym in 4th quarter

By: Michael Love
Saturday, March 8, 2025 | 7:20 PM

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FARRELL — With 4 minutes, 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s PIAA Class A girls basketball game between District 10 champion Farrell and WPIAL No. 5 seed St. Joseph, game referees, in response to what they deemed excessive abusive language and yelling from some spectators, cleared the gym before concluding the game.

Farrell, which played the fourth quarter without leading scorer and rebounder Ja’Niya Daniels, a junior forward who had received a second technical late in the third and was ejected from the game, held a two-point lead.

St. Joseph, to that point, had rallied from a 12-point third-quarter deficit.

But the homestanding Steelerettes didn’t lose the lead after the approximately 10-minute delay and made big plays down the stretch to come away with a 56-53 victory.

St. Joseph senior Gia Richter, who led the Spartans with 31 points in her final game, had a 3-point attempt ring off the rim and bounce away as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

“I am extremely proud of the girls, and the main reason is that, as a coach, you stress certain things during the season like togetherness, next man up, things like that,” veteran Farrell coach Ed Turosky said.

“It’s a reality. When things like what happened happen, you have to stand together as a unit and rely on each other. The girls came back out, and each did their jobs. Opportunities arose. I have to give a lot of credit to my two young guards, a sophomore (Maddy Harrison) and a freshman (Delani Stewart-Wilson). This team is so young, but they showed a lot of resilience. They overcame a lot of adversity.”

Farrell, one of just three Class A teams in District 10, had 15 days off between the end of its regular season and its 49-31 district-title victory over Commodore Perry one week ago.

Saturday’s win was the Steelerettes’ first in the state playoffs since 2018.

Farrell (8-15) then waited six days to host Saturday’s matchup with St. Joseph. It was the first girls state playoff game in the history of Farrell’s E.J McCluskey Gymnasium.

Last year, St. Joseph played the first girls PIAA playoff game in the Walter Dlubak Center.

Farrell will face District 9’s Coudersport or District 6’s Bishop Carroll in the second round Wednesday.

St. Joseph concluded its season at 18-9 overall.

“I am not saying this as a critique of what (the referees) decided to do, and after what happened in the Uniontown game (Friday) night, I totally get it, but I think it hurt us momentum-wise,” St. Joseph coach Geoff Dutelle said.

“We were in a really good spot. I think (Farrell players) were worn down. I know it wasn’t the longest break, but I think it gave them some life and time to regroup. I give (Farrell) credit for doing that. He got his group more composed. Basketball is such a momentum-driven game as you saw from the way that game went, and I think we had it in our favor.”

The Spartans earned their way into the state tournament with a win over West Greene on Feb. 24 and then advanced with a victory over Bishop Canevin three days later.

The wins came on the heels of a quarterfinal loss to No. 3 Clairton.

Bella Bartolovic, a freshman in her first PIAA playoff game, added 12 points for the Spartans.

“Any time you lose a close playoff game, you can look at the plays down the stretch, but you can also ask yourself how did you get in that situation,” Dutelle said.

“In my mind, I don’t think we should’ve been down 12 in the third quarter. We should’ve been able to execute a little bit better. I thought the game plan got away from us in spots.

“But we had a senior, a junior, a sophomore and three freshmen playing in a state playoff game. Both teams are young. I told the girls that it doesn’t make it hurt less, but I am proud of them for the way they handled themselves throughout the game. They played tough and kept battling. They represented their school very well.”

Daniels, at the time of her ejection, had scored a team-best 18 points and added 11 rebounds.

Farrell freshman Cassidy Davis-Roberts, who came off the bench to record nine points and six rebounds, fouled out with 34 seconds left and the Steelerettes ahead by three.

St. Joseph junior Kasey Cienik went to the line to try and draw her team closer, but she missed both foul shots.

At the other end of the court, a Farrell missed shot resulted in a rebound for Richter — she finished with seven — who pushed the ball up the court to set up for the final shot from long range.

Stewart-Wilson finished with 14 points for Farrell. Her layup with 2:52 left on the clock gave the Steelerettes a 52-47 lead.

Harrison added nine points in the win.

St. Joseph built leads of 16-9 late in the first quarter and 24-18 midway through the second.

But Farrell fought back each time.

The Spartans didn’t help themselves in the first half with 11 turnovers.

A Daniels rebound and layup with 3:30 left until halftime gave Farrell its first lead of the game at 18-17.

St. Joseph responded as a 3-pointer from freshman J.J. Cienik, which stopped a 4:52 scoring drought, answered Daniels’ 3-point play. Then four free throws from Richter built the Spartans’ advantage back to six with 2:45 on the second-quarter clock.

But the Steelerettes, paced by the athleticism and quickness of Stewart-Wilson, closed the first half on a 6-0 run. Daniels, who had eight points in the first half, capped the scoring with a rebound and layup with 31 seconds on the clock to knot the score at 24.

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: St. Joseph