GREENSBURG, Pa. — District 7 champion Greensburg Central Catholic had too much of everything for PIAA Playoffs newcomer Curwensville and ran away with a 69-38 Class AA girls basketball first-round victory Friday night in Hempfield Area High School\’s Spartan Fieldhouse.
The 22-6 Lady Centurions, oozing confidence gained on runs deep into the state playoffs the last three years, were taller, quicker and faster than the Lady Tide and dictated an up-tempo pace which the District 9 runner-up is not accustomed to and definitely does not prefer.
One glaring statistic tells the story of Curwensville\’s first venture outside of District 9. Greensburg Central Catholic\’s aggressive defense and Curwensville\’s inability to protect the ball added up to a whopping 32 turnovers, and when that number approaches a team\’s point total, the result is going to be painful.
So, the best season (21-8) in school history, highlighted by four more wins than any previous Lady Tide squad as well as Moshannon Valley League and Allegheny Mountain League South Division titles, ended on a sour note, but coach Vic Gearhart chose not to dwell on the disappointing finish.
\”This is just a great year for these kids,\” he said. \”I’m so happy for the seniors. What can you say about Dani (Struble) and Jackie (White) when they give you everything they have. They’ve had outstanding careers here. And Shannon Hamm and Ronna Knepp. I’m gonna miss these girls. It was an emotional moment for me after the game. I’m sure it was for them too. It’s hard for your career to end. It’s just difficult.
\”I couldn’t have asked, for my first year, for four seniors that gave me a better effort than they did and had the success they did. It wasn’t expected. And I think they should value it and cherish it through the years, too.\”
Struble capped a brilliant season with a game-high 20 points for a District 9-leading 18.9 average. Her 547 points are a Lady Tide season record and boosted her career total to 889. She probably would have become the school\’s third 1,000-point scorer had she not suffered an injury in her sophomore season.
Pitt recruit Ashley Henderson, a 5-11 guard, was every bit as good as advertised, and led Greensburg CC with 17 points. While she was the only Lady Centurion in double figures, the other four starters scored at least seven points before coach Rich Rosensteel pulled them midway through the third quarter.
Many of the Curwensville\’s turnovers were converted into uncontested layups, fast breaks or short jumpers, which was reflected in the Lady Centurions\’ 47.4 shooting percentage. They made 28 of 66 attempts, most inside of 15 feet.
\”They shot the ball a lot better than I expected them to,\” Gearhart said. \”They\’ve got kids that not only are quick, but they can elevate when they shoot jump shots. We saw flat-footed shots all year that we could defend most of the time, or at least get a hand up. They did both. They went up and they shot at the top of their jump.\”
It didn\’t take long for the Lady Centurions\’ huge advantage in playoff experience to become obvious.
Baseline jumpers by Henderson and Jill Gregory and a putback by Gregory made it 6-0 before Struble swished a three from the top of the circle. After Struble answered Henderson\’s fast break layup with tough drive to the hoop, the Lady Centurions scored the last 13 points of the first quarter for a 21-5 lead. Henderson exhibited her versatility with a reverse layup off a baseline drive, finishing a fast break with a strong move and then grabbing a rebound and, while in midair, flipping up a putback for the last six points.
The second period was very similar. An early 7-0 run upped the Lady Centurions\’ lead to 30-6. Then, in the final 3:03 of the half, they took reeled off 15 consecutive points for a 45-12 cushion. Henderson and reserve Lauren DePalma ignited the flurry with long three-pointers from the top of the circle.
Curwensville managed only 17 shots in the half, primarily because of 21 turnovers.
\”We knew they were quick, but I was disappointed in our first half effort,\” Gearhart said. \”I just don\’t think we\’re as bad as we looked, whether it was the magnitude of the game or just nervousness of playing at this level or what. But we\’ve got kids that are better ball handlers and passers than what they showed out there.\”
The Lady Centurions consistently were able to pass over and through the Lady Tide\’s 3-2 zone for wide open shots.
\”If you get lazy and don\’t move and take away the next pass, they\’re gonna make it,\” Gearhart noted. \”They find each other. They obviously have played together and lot and know where the next girl\’s gonna be. They\’re a good ball team.\”
The Curwensville coach made sure all of his players got a taste of playoff action in the latter stages of the second half.
\”Well, we weren’t going to win this game after halftime, and those kids, they work hard all year, too,\” Gearhart said. \”They may never get back to a game of this level, so you need to get everybody in. I\’d have done them wrong and I would have had a real guilty conscience if I hadn\’t been able to get them on the floor.\”
He did leave Struble on the court, and the senior guard ended the game with a steal and a layup.
\”Good for her,\” Gearhart said. \”I know some people were critical, maybe, of me leaving her on the floor, but you know what, nobody deserved to be on the floor the whole game more than she did. She had a lot of pressure on her. She would beat her girl and really had no options. We just didn\’t react like we needed to to be in the ball game. When you don\’t play at that level all year, you cannot simulate it. Until you see it, you don\’t know how to react to it.\”
While the final game might be one they\’d just as soon forget, the senior will depart with a lot of great memories, not the least of which is a school-record 62 wins the last four years.
And the underclassmen learned a valuable lesson.
\”What we talked about after the game is that if they ever hope to get back to this, we have a lot of work to do,\” Gearhart said. \”They do. I do. We all do. We need to get to the gym this summer and work a lot on our weaknesses.\”
OVERTIME — Curwensville shot 38.2 percent but had only 34 attempts… Greensburg CC\’s height advantage translated into a 30-19 edge in rebounds… Erica Keto, a 6-0 junior, pulled down 13 missed shots for the Lady Centurions… The winners had 14 turnovers, but half of them came in the fourth period when their six freshmen were on the floor… Greensburg CC\’s next game will be against District 10 runnerup Lakeview (26-2) Tuesday.
