Upper St. Clair surges past Canon-McMillan into PIAA quarterfinals
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Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | 11:26 PM
Upper St. Clair’s Rylee Kalocay is called for charging on Canon-McMillan’s Lauren Borella during a PIAA Class 6A second-round playoff game Tuesday at Peters Township.
Upper St. Clair’s Ryan Prunzik fights for a loose ball with Canon-McMillan’s Samantha Miller during a PIAA Class 6A second-round playoff game Tuesday at Peters Township.
Upper St. Clair’s Rylee Kalocay drives past Canon-McMillan’s Faye Saunders during a PIAA Class 6A second-round playoff game Tuesday at Peters Township.
Canon-McMillan’s Brooke Stanton grabs a loose ball from Upper St. Clair’s Grace Howell during a PIAA Class 6A second-round playoff game Tuesday at Peters Township.
Upper St. Clair’s Olivia Terlecki fights for a loose ball with Canon-McMillan’s Samantha Miller (10) and Isabella Urso during a PIAA Class 6A second-round playoff game Tuesday at Peters Township.
Upper St. Clair’s Claire Rosenberry fights for a rebound with Canon-McMillan’s Samantha Miller (10) and Madison Clair during a PIAA Class 6A second-round playoff game Tuesday at Peters Township.
Upper St. Clair’s Rylee Kalocay is fouled by Canon-McMillan’s Brooke Stanton during a PIAA Class 6A second-round playoff game Tuesday at Peters Township.
Upper St. Clair’s Rylee Kalocay scores over Canon-McMillan’s Brooke Stanton during a PIAA Class 6A second-round playoff game Tuesday at Peters Township.
Upper St. Clair’s Rylee Kalocay blocks the shot of Canon-McMillan’s Brooke Stanton during a PIAA Class 6A second-round playoff game Tuesday at Peters Township.
Upper St. Clair senior Rylee Kalocay always has a message for her teammates in the huddle after player introductions.
On Tuesday night, her message was a little longer than usual.
“It sometimes a lot quicker, but this game was really meaningful for us because it was the last time we were going to play locally together,” she said.
The message didn’t kick in until the third quarter, but when it did, Upper St. Clair was able to pull away from a young and scrappy Canon-McMillan team, 46-32.
“We didn’t hit our shots in the first half. We took some poor shots,” Upper St. Clair coach Peter Serio said. “We have to do better with the ball and do better with possessions. If we miss a shot on a good possession, I’m good with that.”
There wasn’t much good about the shooting in the first half for either side.
USC led 10-7 after the opening quarter, then the Panthers and Big Macs were held to only five points each in the second quarter.
While both teams missed open shots, they both were playing tough, in-your-face defense the entire night.
“Our defense has been the key to what we’ve done over the last few weeks,” Serio said. “It’s really nice when someone comes up to me after the game and says, ‘Your defense was fabulous.’ That makes me smile, and I’m very proud of that. When we’re not hitting shots, we better play defense.
“When we play defense like that, I like our chances.”
The Panthers got the offense going in the third quarter thanks to three 3-pointers.
As part of a 13-4 run for USC, the lead ballooned from three points to 12 when senior guard Meredith Huzjak hit the first trey, followed by back-to-back 3s by senior forward Olivia Terlecki.
“We needed to make some shots,” Serio said. “Scoring 15 points in a half I’m sure is the lowest we’ve had all year. We were really quiet in the locker room, but they responded. You make a couple of shots, and that’s a big difference.”
Kalocay thought that run and those shots were the difference in the game.
“Huge, absolutely huge,” she said. “They are both great shooters, and I know both are reliable shooters. When I’m not hitting, if I can get to the hoop and kick out to somebody, they are two of the ones I’m looking for every time.”
Canon-McMillan never got the deficit back to single digits again.
“Our offense was hurting,” Canon-McMillan head coach and former USC assistant John Fontana said. “Lauren Borella did not practice the last few days, and she’s been dealing with a knee injury and fighting the flu, and Samantha Miller has been really banged up lately. They really gutted it out, and I’m proud of them. But we missed a lot of bunnies and free throws.”
The Big Macs finished 7 of 14 from the free-throw line.
Fontana was also happy with the play of sophomore forward Faye Saunders, who led the Big Macs with 14 points.
“She was raw last year but kept getting better,” Fontana said. “She really worked hard this offseason. If she improves as much next year as she did this season, I expect her to be one of the better players in the WPIAL.”
A historic season ends for a Canon-McMillan team that does not have any seniors. It was a year filled with a lot of firsts, including hosting a playoff game, reaching the district final four, making the PIAA playoffs and winning a state playoff game.
“I told them afterward in the locker room, we were one of 16 teams left standing,” Fontana said. “We were the hunter, but next year, we will be the hunted. But for now, I’m so proud of them.”
The work is not done for the WPIAL champions, the final District 7 team standing in the PIAA playoffs.
Kalocay, a Kent State recruit, led the Panthers with 20 points and Huzjak added 10 points.
Upper St. Clair improves to 21-6 and will now face the No. 5 team out of District 1 in Haverford (23-5) in the PIAA quarterfinals Friday.
“I’m very proud of them,” Serio said. “This has been a fabulous year, and I hope it continues because I’ll miss these kids. I’d like to have two more weeks with them if I could.”
Tags: Canon-McMillan, Upper St. Clair
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