ERIE, Pa. – Meea Irwin’s free throw with a minute to play gave the Dragons the lead, and the defense made it hold up as Warren outlasted Harbor Creek, 32-31, to punch its ticket to the District 10 Class 4A championship game.
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“I don’t really score on offense,” Irwin said during her Cole Orthodontic Associates player interview. “Defense is my game. We’re pretty aggressive and physical and we challenge the opponent.”
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The final minute was not without its own drama. Harbor Creek drew a foul on the possession following the free throw, putting Warren at four team fouls for the quarter. Another foul against the Dragons would have sent the Huskies to the line with a chance to tie or take the lead.
As the Huskies put the ball back in play, Alana Stuart came up with a steal. Stuart pushed the ball down the court and passed off a spin move. The ball went off Irwin’s fingertips and out of bounds with eight seconds left.
After each team took a timeout, Harbor Creek brought the ball down the court. Hannah Smith found Elise Benim on the wing. Benim tried to hit Brooke Przybylski on a back cut, a play that had worked well for the Huskies in the first half, but the ball was out of Przybylski’s reach and went out of bounds with 2.5 seconds left.
“(This is) what everybody’s been saying about us all along,” Warren coach Lisa LaVan said. “We have no superstar, we just grit we grind, and that’s exactly what we did today.”
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Halle Kuzminski took the ball for the inbounds and launched a perfect pass to Stuart who ran out the final seconds.
“I’m pretty pumped, not gonna lie,” Irwin said. “(The coaching staff) push us in practice and they prepare us for these moments.”
The Huskies came out hot with Przybylski and Georgia Weber hitting back-to-back threes to start the game. Harbor Creek was able to build an 8-2 advantage as Warren missed its first six shots from the field. The Huskies led by six, 12-6, after the first eight minutes.
“They’re taking our stuff away, it happens in playoffs,” LaVan said about the slow start offensively. “They scout you, they know what you do, they know what your tendencies are. We just had to rely on our defense. And that’s what we did. We went to work on the defensive end and I think that’s what calmed us down and helped us, to be honest.”
By the early stages of the second quarter, it seemed Harbor Creek was going to run away with it, up 19-8 with 5:30 to play before halftime. Kuzminski completed a traditional 3-point play and Alyssa Farr knocked down a three to cut the lead to 19-14 at the break.
“Halle’s one of the pieces that’s the heart and soul of this group,” LaVan said. “She gets fired up and gets after those pieces. She’s a great leader. She’s calm, we have such a calming presence with her and Sammie (Ruhlman) on the court. She gets fired up though and everybody really likes that. She knows when to play the card and she plays it well.”
Both teams got off to a sloppy start in the second half, but Harbor Creek still led 21-16 midway through the frame. Warren began cutting into the lead, and the Huskies had just a 2-point advantage, 27-25, going to the fourth quarter.
Stuart’s steal and layup with 5:07 to play gave the Dragons their first lead of the game, 29-27. The teams traded buckets to a 31-31 tie, setting up the final minute.
Przybylski was the only Husky in double figures with 11 points. Weber had five points.
No Warren player reached double figures. Kuzminski had a team-high nine points, Farr added seven points, and Stuart finished with six points.
Warren will face Fairview, a 44-35 winner over Conneaut, for the D10 4A title on Saturday at a time and location to be announced.
“We’ll expect anything and everything they have,” LaVan said. “That’s what happens, District 10 playoffs, the gloves are off. So we’ll be ready for just about anything they throw at us.”
Harbor Creek will take on Conneaut in the consolation game to determine seeding for the PIAA Tournament.
FAIRVIEW 44, CONNEAUT 35
ERIE, Pa. – Paige Garrity scored 22 points to lead Fairview back into the District 10 Class 4A title game with a 44-35 win over Conneaut.
Top seed Fairview (19-5) built a 29-17 halftime lead on its way to the win over the No. 4 Eagles (16-8).
Garrity knocked down three 3-pointers in the first half and closed the game by scoring eight points in the fourth quarter.
Bre Heidt was also in double figures for Fairview with 14 points.
Lainie Harrington led CASH with 11 points, while Courtney Perrye had nine and Hannah Brady eight. Perrye also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals and Kaitlyn Crabbe four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
CLASS 3A
MERCYHURST PREP 61, SENECA 31
ERIE, Pa. – Seneca got the first points, but Mercyhurst Prep answered with a 7-0 run and never looked back on its way to a 61-31 win in the District 10 Class 3A semifinals.
Emma Bleil got the Bobcats on the board with a 3-pointer to start the game, but the Lakers answered with the run and pushed the lead to 10, 21-11, at the end of the first quarter.
Mercyhurst had doubled up Seneca, 32-15, midway through the second, and led 39-20 at the half.
A 13-0 run to start the third quarter pushed the lead to 52-20 and put the running clock into effect.
Seana Thrower led all scorers with 20 points. Mari Nixon had 14 points and Olivia Kulyk added 13 points.
Hayley Farrell had a team-high 12 points, while Bleil had 10 points.
Mercyhurst Prep will face Northwestern, a 66-55 winner over Wilmington, for the D10 3A title on Saturday at a time and location to be announced.
Seneca will take on Wilmington with a trip to the PIAA Tournament on the line.
NORTHWESTERN 66, WILMINGTON 55
MEADVILLE, Pa. – No. 3 Northwestern built a 21-point halftime lead on its way to a 66-55 win over No. 2 Wilmington in the D10 Class 3A semifinals.
Makayla Presser-Palmer led four Northwestern (21-3) players in double figures with 21 points.
As a team, Northwestern knocked down five of its seven 3-pointers in the first half. Brook Miller, Taylor Stagl and Chloe Yazembiak all tallied 11 points each for the Wildcats.
Lia Krarup scored 13 of her 16 points in the first half for Wilmington, becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer in the process.
Alyssa Flick led Wilmington with 18 points, while Maya Jeckavtich tallied 11.
CLASS 2A
MAPLEWOOD 39, COCHRANTON 37
MEADVILLE, Pa. – For the second time in consecutive playoff games, No. 2 Maplewood. And for the second time, they rallied.
Trailing 19-10 at halftime and 30-28 going to the fourth quarter, Maplewood (21-3) got seven points from Maggie Means in the fourth quarter to rally for a 39-37 win over No. 6 Cochranton in the D10 Class 2A semifinals.
The win vaults the Lady Tigers into the D10 title game for the second consecutive season, where they will face No. 1 Kennedy Catholic.
Means and Madison O’Hara had 11 points each for Maplewood, while Savannah O’Hara tallied nine.
The win was the third this season for Maplewood over Cochranton.
Eve Pfeiffer had two 3-pointers in the first quarter for Cochranton and Shelby McBryar matched Pfeiffer with 10 total points.
The Maplewood/KC and third-place game between Cochranton and West Middlesex will both be on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
KENNEDY CATHOLIC 73, WEST MIDDLESEX 33
SHARON, Pa. – Layke Fields had 19 points and 12 rebounds as top seed Kennedy Catholic rolled into the District 10 Class 2A title game with a 73-33 win over No. 4 West Middlesex.
The defending PIAA champion Golden Eagles (19-4) led 18-8 after the first quarter and 41-22 at halftime en route to the win.
Fields also had seven blocks and was one of three Kennedy Catholic players in double figures, as Bella Magestro had 15 and Lochlyn Shimrack 10.
Caitlin Stephens had 13 points and Sloan Mild 10 for West Middlesex (18-5).
CLASS 1A
JAMESTOWN 49, ROCKY GROVE 37
SHARON, Pa. – Alayna Cadman scored 21 points to lead Jamestown back to the District 10 Class 1A final with a 49-37 win over Rocky Grove.
Jamestown (7-15) led 27-14 at halftime en route to the win.
Stacie Weimert scored 11 of her 18 points in the second half for the Muskies.
Rae Montgomery had 11 points and Lydia Kennedy 10 for Rocky Grove (7-16).
With the win, No. 3 Jamestown advances to play No. 1 Youngsville for the D10 title at a site and time to be determined.
