Thomas Jefferson girls dominate Latrobe in WPIAL 1st round

By: Adam Brewer
Friday, February 14, 2025 | 12:01 AM

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The No. 6 Thomas Jefferson girls basketball team was doing everything right in the first half of its WPIAL Class 5A first-round contest.

The Jaguars were shooting the ball well, passing with confidence and playing lockdown defense.

But despite all those positives, they were up by only eight points, and upset-minded No. 11 Latrobe was hanging around and gaining momentum against the higher seed.

And then the third quarter started, and it was all TJ.

Thomas Jefferson never looked back, defeating the visiting Wildcats, 68-47, at home Friday night with a 27-11 scoring output in the third quarter.

“We stuck to our game plan and brought the intensity to the court in that third quarter,” TJ coach Matt Gould said. “Last year, we lost in a play-in game and had some nerves to start the game. I feel like the girls were locked in tonight, and they played the right way in the second half.”

TJ advances to the quarterfinals Wednesday and faces No. 3 Penn-Trafford, which is 23-0 after a 63-46 victory over Plum in the first round. Site and time are still to be determined.

Kaylee DeAngelo and Maggie Spell combined for 21 points in that decisive third quarter for the Jaguars (19-4).

“Latrobe is a scrappy bunch, and we had to make sure to stay under them,” Gould said. “We forced some turnovers and made some shots in the third quarter. As a coach, you always look smarter when your team is hitting shots.”

DeAngelo finished with a game-high 20 points and made five 3-pointers in the win, and Spell tallied 19 points. Emma Altavilla also chipped in for TJ with nine points.

The Wildcats (11-11) were led by three players in double-figures, but it wasn’t enough as they had a disastrous third quarter and missed too many opportunities in the first half.

“TJ shot the lights out in the second half,” Latrobe coach Mackenzie Livingston said. “It felt like they didn’t miss a three the whole night. We could not get back into the game after that third quarter. We were competitive with them early, but we had a couple of sloppy turnovers and shot ourselves in the foot with some misses right at the hoop.”

Carley Berk grabbed top honors for Latrobe with 15 points, and Maggie Maiers (12) and Brylee Bodnar (11) combined for 23 points.

After the teams split the opening 14 points of the contest, with Spell collecting all seven points for TJ, the Jaguars garnered separation with a 12-2 run.

Riley McCabe jump-started the spree with five straight points, a 3-pointer plus a steal that led to a fast-break layup. Then Emily Hritz collected a shot from beyond the arc. Interior baskets by Spell and Altavilla extended TJ’s lead to 19-9.

The Wildcats bounced back with the final points of the opening frame, as Bodnar launched a last-second trey to make it 19-12 at the end of a quarter.

A 3-pointer by DeAngelo increased the Jaguars’ advantage to 26-15 midway through the second stanza, but the Wildcats crawled back into the game by scoring 10 of the next 17 points and brought their halftime deficit down to 33-25.

TJ exploded for six quick points to start the third period and forced Livingston to call a timeout. The brief pause in action didn’t matter for the visitors as the home team responded with a 12-4 spurt that made it 51-29.

“We had to move the ball against their zone and avoid settling for threes,” Gould said. “Sure, we have some girls that can hit the outside shot, but we wanted to make sure their defense worked and we had to use our size. We had two great bigs, and we had to get them touches. Even if they don’t score, they are capable of passing it back outside to our shooters.”

The spree kicked off with a hoop by Spell and a 3-pointer by DeAngelo. Allie Wilson recorded five points in the run as the Jaguars’ height was becoming a big factor.

“These girls are unselfish with the basketball,” Gould said. “They are always looking for the open look and the easier basket. We knew Latrobe from playing them in section the last two years. We knew Berk was a scorer, and we had to keep her in check.”

After a basket by the Wildcats, the Jaguars ended the third frame with a 9-8 scoring output for a 60-36 lead at the end of three quarters. DeAngelo had a pair of 3s in the final outburst in the quarter, and Spell added a three-point play.

TJ elected to go with its reserves at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and Latrobe showed some life by scoring 11 unanswered points to bring the deficit down to 60-47 with 2 minutes, 58 seconds left in regulation.

“Kudos to TJ. They have some great shooters,” Livingston said. “Our girls will fight to the very end. That is something I love about this team. They don’t shy away from competing, and they play for each other.”

A basket by Marissa DeSimone ended the scoring drought by the home team as TJ closed out the triumph with the final six points.

The playoff win was the first for the Jaguars since a first-round win over Albert Gallatin in 2021.

Tags: Latrobe, Thomas Jefferson