SHARON, Pa. – They say defense wins championships.
At the very least, it won the Cathedral Prep girls’ basketball team its PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal contest Saturday afternoon.
The Ramblers (22-3) limited WPIAL fourth-place finisher Oakland Catholic (26-3) to a season-low 29 points, the fewest points scored by the Eagles since netting 27 against North Allegheny on Feb. 10, 2020, in getting a 39-97 win at Sharon High School.
“More than anything, defense is energy,” Cathedral Prep head coach Doug Chuzie said. “It’s heart. It’s trusting each other. That is what our team is.”
The defensive effort was even better when you consider 10 of Oakland Catholic’s points came in the game;’s first 3:48.
After that, Cathedral Prep limited the Eagles to eight baskets the rest of the game.
“Oakland Catholic came out early and found a couple of open shots,” Chuzie said. “We had a timeout, and the girls just communicated with each other and said hey I think if we shut this area down we are going to get some stops. Credit to the kids for understanding what they were trying to do.”
Cathedral Prep needed a strong defensive effort considering Oakland Catholic’s defense was limiting the Ramblers to well below their nearly 56 ppg output.
“It mostly starts on defense,” Addisyn Biel, who had another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds said. “If we don’t score, we just play on defense and get the stop there.”
The Ramblers had some trouble, especially early on, against Oakland Catholic’s pressure defense turning the ball over five times in the first quarter and eight times in the first half. CP had 14 turnovers for the game.
“Oakland Catholic is a great team,” Jayden McBride, who had a team-best 14 points said. “They are very athletic. It is why they press. It is something that really works. I was just happy that we were smart enough with the ball. We have great front lines and back lines. To just have people with people to help is something great.”
McBride was at her best late in the first half with Cathedral Prep trailing 14-11 and not having scored in the second quarter.
She hit a 3-pointer at the 2:31 mark to tie the game at 14 and then hit another triple – she had three 3-pointers in the game – with 1:01 to play before halftime to put the Ramblers ahead, 17-14, at the break.
“At that time, we were down a couple of times,” McBride said. “We had a couple of turnovers, and we were a little mentally not there. To just be able to be that team leader, that senior leader as the point guard, I just had to calm everybody down. If I am calm, everybody else is calm. I am directing the traffic. I know what I have to do. Just being able to be calm, keep our composure, just play our game.”
Watch McBride’s full postgame interview
Chuzie said it is great to be able to have so many different players who can step up in critical times.
“I think of of our strengths is very game is a little different,” Chuzie said. “In the previous game, it might have been (Lena) Walz and Biel who led us. In the game before that, it was (Melenna) Valone coming out hot. Tonight it just happened to be Jayden was the one who stepped up and scored. The pride we have in sharing the ball and taking a good shot for the team is (shown there).”
Up three at the break, Walz, who was in foul trouble throughout the contest before fouling out with just over three minutes to play, hit a 3-pointer to start the second half, and then free-throw shooting took over.
The Ramblers hit 8 of 8 free throws in the third quarter to build an eight-point lead, 30-22, by the end of the frame and then went 7 of 8 in the fourth quarter to put the game away. On the day, Cathedral Prep was 17 of 18 from the line.
“Wow, I didn’t know that,” Chuzie said. “This time of year that is what it is going to come down to, right? Can you get a defensive stop? Can you take high-quality shots? And at the end, if you are lucky enough to have the lead, can you knock down your free throws? It is something we take pride in. It is something you can control. There are a lot of things in the game of basketball that you cannot control. Free throw shooting is something you can control. The kids take a lot of pride in that.”
Even with the great free-throw shooting, Oakland Catholic, who saw all three of its losses come in postseason play, battled to within five, 32-27, on a 3-pointer by Kylee DeAngelo, her second of the game with 3:33 to play.
Walz then fouled out with 3:08 left, and the momentum seemed to be in the Eagles’ favor.
That’s when Biel came up with the game’s biggest bucket when she drove the left baseline and scored with 2:23 left to make it 34-27, and the lead never went below six the rest of the game.
“I just remember my teammates letting me drive,” Biel said. “They trusted me. They didn’t call for the ball. They didn’t tell me to kick it out. They trusted me.”
Watch Biel’s full postgame interview
With the win, Cathedral Prep will look for its first trip to the PIAA title game since the champions-only tournament in 2021 when it lost to Archbishop Wood, 44-34, in the title game, when it takes on WPIAL third-place finisher McKeesport in the semifinals on Tuesday, March 19, at a site and time to be announced.
“At this point in my career, I’ve been through many playoffs and, obviously, many regular seasons,” Chuzie, who has been coaching Cathedral Prep/Villa Maria (Villa Maria became Prep two years ago) since 2003. “ I’m in it for the kids. To see their excitement, to see them fight back against adversity through the game, that’s the joy I take in it. Not necessarily a win but the energy and the effort and the togetherness that the team showed. That’s my joy.”
CATHEDRAL PREP 39, OAKLAND CATHOLIC 29
Score by Quarters
Oakland Catholic 10 4 8 7 – 29
Cathedral Prep 11 6 13 9 – 39
OAKLAND CATHOLIC – 29
Alayla Bivens 1 1-1 3, Zephania Traxler-Scott 0 0-0 0, Kylee DeAngelo 2 0-0 6, Rayen Hintemeyer 1 0-2 3, Mia LeDonne 4 3-3 11, Josephine Fontana 3 0-2 6. Totals 11 4-8 29.
CATHEDRAL PREP – 39
Lena Walz 2 4-4 9, Melenna Valone 0 2-2 2, Ava Lucarotti 0 2-2 2, Jayden McBride 3 5-6 14, Natalie Spano 0 2-2 2, Addisyn Biel 4 2-2 10. Totals 9 17-18 39.
Three-pointers: Oakland Catholic 3 (DeAngelo 2, Hintemeyer 1). Cathedral Prep 4 (McBride 3, Walz 1).
