NORTH HUNTINGDON TWP., Pa. – Using a pair of quick 10-0 runs – one in the first half and one in the second half – Cathedral Prep sent the Northern York Polar Bears into hibernation with a 61-36 win in the second round of the PIAA Class 5A girls’ basketball playoffs Wednesday evening at Norwin High School.
“I think it all begins on the defensive end,” Cathedral Prep head coach Doug Chuzie said. “If you can get a couple of stops and get out in transition, you get a couple of easy ones and see the ball go in the hoop, I think everybody feels a little better about themselves. That’s not a secret. That’s everybody. Every team is going to try to get out in transition a little bit.”
The first-half run came late in the second quarter with the Ramblers (21-3) holding a 22-15 lead.
It started at the 2:47 mark with a basket by Addisyn Biel, included two Lena Walz, and finished with a Jayden McBride bucket with 1:07 to play in the half that pushed Cathedral Prep’s lead to 32-15.
Northern York got within 14, 32-18, on a 3-pointer by Addison Place and then closed within 10, 36-26, with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.
It was at that point that the second run, one that put the game away.
The second spurt started with a McBride 3-pointer with 2:52 to go in the quarter which was followed by a McKenna Valone basket, a 3-pointer by Walz, who hit six triples in the game, and a bucket by Biel with just under 57 seconds left in the third.
“We do a really good job trying to play team defense,” Walz said. “I think when we do that, it gets us going out in transition, and we can make some quick runs like that.”
Walz had a big game for the Ramblers thanks to her hot hand for the outside finishing with a game-high 22 points.
Watch Walz hit a 3-pointer to end the third quarter
“I was really feeling it in the warmups,” Walz said. “My teammates did a really good job hitting me on some extra passes, and I was able to knock down a few today.”
Watch Walz’s full postgame interview
While Walz was beating Northern York (25-3), the second-place team out of District 3, from the outside, Biel was having her way inside.
The junior forward had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
“I feel like it was a mismatch inside,” Biel said. “My teammates were always looking at me from the outside to pass it in.”
Four of Biel’s rebounds came on the offensive end leading to seven second-chance points for the Ramblers – four from Biel and three from Walz.
“It is a good feeling to have trust in our teammates and myself to get the offensive rebound,” Biel said. “If the shot doesn’t fall the first time, and we get the rebound and a second-chance opportunity, it is amazing.”
Watch Biel’s full postgame interview
Biel was huge in the first quarter for Cathedral Prep scoring seven of the Rambler’s 19 points, as CP took a 19-9 lead after eight minutes.
She was then strong again in the fourth quarter scoring eight more points, including the first two of the quarter to help put the game away.
“Addy Biel is a big part of what we do,” Chuzie said. “The kid is a relentless worker. She loves the game of basketball. She’s a wonderful teammate. When she is out there in the middle, I think she makes a lot of good things happen for our team.”
While the offensive end was working well for Cathedral Prep, the real work was being done on the defensive end where the Ramblers held the Polar Bears to 37% from the field (13 of 35) while forcing 19 turnovers.
“That’s a positive for us,” Chuzie said. “We are going to do our best to keep our girl in front of us and make plays when we have the ability to make plays. I thought our girls were able to do that tonight.”
Chuzie was also happy with the way his team handled what could have been some pregame adversity.
The Rambler team bus got stuck in a traffic jam that was caused by downed wires on the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the Monroeville exit, one exit shy of the Irwin exit where Norwin High School is located. They didn’t arrive at the school until approximately a ½ hour prior to tipoff, but the game got going on time.
“I was most impressed by our perseverance,” Chuzie said. “It was a long bus ride down. We faced some adversity getting her 30 minutes before the game. But our kids talked about it all year. Nothing bothers us. I thought they showed that today.”
McBride also reached double digits for Cathedral Prep with 12 points.
Siena Ondecko paced Northern York with 13 points while Cassidy Sadler chipped in with eight.
Cathedral Prep will face WPIAL fourth-place finisher Oakland Catholic, who upset WPIAL champion, South Fayette, in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 16, at a site and time to be announced.
CATHEDRAL PREP 61, NORTHERN YORK 36
Score by Quarters
Northern York 9 9 12 6 – 36
Cathedral Prep 19 13 17 12 – 61
NORTHERN YORK – 36
Taelya Townsend 0 0-0 0, Jordis Lieb 0 0-0 0, Cassidy Sadler 3 2-2 8, Addison Place 1 2-2 5, Liz Montgomery 0 0-0 0, Madison Burnett 0 0-0 0, Anna Lehman 1 4-4 6, Delaney Moyer 1 0-0 2, Siena Ondecko 6 0-0 13, Hannah Freese 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 8-8 36.
,CATHEDRAL PREP – 61
Grace Orlando 0 0-0 0, Lena Walz 8 0-0 22, McKenna Valone 2 0-0 5, Jessica Beveridge 0 0-0 0, Ava Lucarotti 0 2-2 2, Cecelia Morgan 0 0-0 0, Jasmine Woodard 0 0-0 0, Brooklyn DiRaimo 0 0-0 0, Abigail Corsale 0 0-0 0, Jayden McBride 5 0-0 12, Maddy Brzezinski 0 0-0 0, Natalie Spano 0 0-0 0, Addisyn Biel 9 2-5 20. Totals 24 4-7 61.
Three-pointers: Northern York 2 (Place 1, Ondecko 1). Cathedral Prep 9 (Walz 6, McBride 2, Valone 1).
