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HERMITAGE, Pa. – Kennedy Catholic’s run to its second state championship in school history was something to behold.
After a dominant regular season and run to the District 10 title, the Golden Eagles won every game in the PIAA Class 2A championships by double digits.
That run started with a 77-20 win over Brentwood, followed by 56-39 win over Burgettstown in the second round, a 60-48 win over Bishop McCort in the quarterfinals, a 56-44 win over Greensburg Central Catholic in the semifinals and a 65-45 win over Homer-Center in the title game.
“I’ve got the best girls in the classroom and on the court,” said Kennedy Catholic coach Justin Magestro after the title game win. “We use those cornerstones to make us a better team. They put so much time in during the season, in the offseason and it paid off.”
Kennedy Catholic got off to a 2-4 start to the season but rattled off 24 consecutive wins to close the season.
The Golden Eagles (22-4) raced out to a 20-point lead after the first quarter against Brentwood to begin their PIAA run, scoring 30 points in the opening eight minutes.
Hayden Keith scored 24 points in the win. Keith was one of five Golden Eagles in double figures, as Layke Fields had 13 points, Monique Vincent 12, Cassie Dancak 12, and Bella Magestro 10.
It was the Magestro show in the win over Burgettstown. The freshman poured in 29 points in the win.
Burgettstown trailed by just two, 21-19, at halftime, but Magestro came out on fire in the second half, drilling four 3s in the third quarter as the Golden Eagles (21-4), extended their lead to 12, 40-28 after the third.
Magestro scored 24 of her 29 points in the second half and scored seven more points in the fourth quarter to help Kennedy pull away.
It was Fields’ turn to dominate in the quarterfinal win over McCort. Fields collected 30 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
Kennedy built a 17-point lead after three quarters, as Vincent added 12 points and Izzy Bianco 10.
The Golden Eagles trailed late in the second quarter of the semifinal game against GCC, but Fields tied the game at 21 with 46.7 seconds left, and then the Golden Eagles got a chance to hold for the last shot, which Monique Vincent made count with a 3-pointer from the left corner in front of the GCC bench to give Kennedy Catholic a 24-21 halftime lead.
Fields finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds, as Kennedy started the second half on a 6-0 run to take control of the game.
That momentum carried over to the state title game, a place where the Golden Eagles came up just short a year ago.
Kennedy Catholic (26-4) led by six, 26-20, at halftime, and like they have done during the entirety of their postseason run, played a great second half to pull away.
Layke Fields and Monique Vincent scored 15 of the Golden Eagles’ 18 points in the third quarter, as they extended the lead to 18, 44-26.
“It’s so exciting,” Vincent said. “Obviously, we didn’t get what we wanted last year, so this year we are hoping to get back and get what we really wanted, that we came for.”
