MEADVILLE, Pa. – The more things change, the more they stay the same.
No. 2 Slippery Rock led nearly wire-to-wire, playing great defense and knocking down outside shots in a 43-26 win over No. 3 Harbor Creek in the D10 Class 5A semifinals.
With the win, they will meet Warren on Saturday for the second year in a row in the title game.
“It’s something we aren’t always doing in games, hitting a lot of shots, so it was nice to get some of them going in early just to take a deep breath and relax a little bit,” said Slippery Rock coach Amber Osborn. “I thought the girls played really, really hard defensively.”
Harbor Creek led briefly, 2-0, on a Samantha Zank layup, but that was short-lived, as Katie Book came down and hit a three and the Rockets led the rest of the way.
Slippery Rock made eight threes in the game – three from Ella McDermott, two from Book and Gianna Bedel and one by Julia Coffaro.
Book talked about the strong shooting and great defense afterward:
It was 13-7 after a three in the second quarter by Zank, but Slippery Rock closed the half on a 10-2 run, with Coffaro and Bedel both knocking down threes during the run.
Georgia Weber opened the second half with a bucket for Harbor Creek, but Slippery Rock responded with a 9-0 spurt to go up 21 and essentially put the game out of reach.
“They’re a really good team and super athletic,” Osborn said of Harbor Creek. “They make really good reads and I felt like some of their shots they normally make didn’t go in. As coaches, we all have nights like that. I know they’re capable of making a big comeback and I just told them to stay focused.”
It was 34-18 after the third quarter, with Slippery Rock going on one final big spurt in the fourth, this one a 7-0 run on buckets from McDermott, Book, and Audrey Kura.
McDermott finished with 14 points, Book 12, Bedel six, and Kura and Bronwyn McCoy four each.
Zank scored all of Harbor Creek’s points in the first half and finished with a team-high 12 points.
Harbor Creek will meet Grove City in the consolation game with a trip to states on the line, while the Rockets get that rematch with the Warren Dragons, a game in which they led late until Emma Ruhlman was fouled down two with no time left on the clock and knocked down all three free throws to give the Dragons the title.
“We’ll do our best,” Osborn said. “I know my girls are up for challenges. We’ll prepare for them just like they’ll prepare for us. I’m just thankful to get there. It’s a privilege to get there. These seniors I have are very special. They’ve worked hard and a lot of them have taken the backseat for a couple of years. I’m really happy for them.”
(1) WARREN 47, (4) GROVE CITY 25
ERIE, Pa. – Warren coach Lisa LaVan said at the end of the regular season that the Lady Dragons, who entered the playoffs on a 3-game skid, needed to “get back on track.”
Riley Childress’ steal and layup with 6:47 to play in the first half seemed to be exactly what Warren needed to do just that as it helped the Dragons turn a 12-12 tie into a 47-25 win over Grove City in their District 10 Class 5A semifinal.
This was the play that started to break the game open for @WAHSLadyDragons. @RileyChildress3 with a steal and a layup to break a 12-12 tie. pic.twitter.com/7MirMDn5NW
— Your Daily Local (@yourdailylocal) March 3, 2022
“We’re back on track, we definitely are,” LaVan said. “We’re not going to take anything for granted. We said one day at a time, one game at a time.”
See LaVan’s full interview:
Childress’ play was part of a 9-0 Warren (18-6) run in the second quarter. Grove City (15-9) was able to take advantage of cold shooting from the Dragons in the first quarter and knocked down a pair of threes (one each from Delaney Callahan and Izzy Gamble) to take a 12-10 lead into the second.
Halle Kuzminski came up with a steal on the Eagles’ next possession after the Dragons took the 14-12 lead, and that led to a traditional 3-point play for Emma Ruhlman.
After a defensive stop, Alana Stuart, who started the run with a pair of free throws, capped it with a layup to give Warren a 19-12 lead.
“We struggled early a little bit on offense, some of our shots weren’t falling that maybe should have, but at the end of the day it’s about our defense,” LaVan said. “It’s been our staple all year, continues to be our staple. No matter what we’re doing on offense, we know we can defend.”
Callahan hit a three late in the quarter to cut the halftime deficit to 19-15. While the Eagles were able to stay in it in the first half thanks to some timely 3-pointers, the Dragons went 0-7 from distance in the half.
“Shooters shoot and I think between me, Riley and Sammie (Ruhlman) we’re going to hit those shots,” Ruhlman said. “And if we don’t, our defense is going to get us those transitions and take it down the court and get us those easy layups.”
See Ruhlman’s full postgame interview:
After missing their first eight shots from behind the arc, Childress ended the Dragons’ 3-point drought with a corner three with 5:22 to play in the third quarter.
“We’re just gonna keep shooting until they start falling,” Childress said.
Childress’ full interview:
Childress hit another three for good measure to give Warren a 28-18 lead midway through the third.
3Q media timeout, @WAHSLadyDragons 28, @GroveCityGBB 20. @RileyChildress3 with a pair of 3s in the qtr pic.twitter.com/mkkr2jhFoi
— D9and10Sports (@d9and10sports) March 2, 2022
Warren closed the third quarter with a 16-2 run that put the game out of reach.
“We had two very good practices, our gameplan was good and I knew we were due to just go off and I think we really did that,” Ruhlman said. “And I think we’re going to keep doing that.”
Callahan finished with 11 points, Gamble added eight, and Emma Santom four
Childress and Ruhlman each finished with 16 points and Stuart had seven in the win
Warren will face a familiar foe in the D10 championship game Saturday at a time and location to be announced.
For the third time in four years, the Dragons will square off against Slippery Rock for the title. Three years ago Wednesday, the Dragons defeated the Rockets for the program’s second D10 title, and the two met in a classic a year ago in Warren.
“We are not taking Slippery Rock lightly,” LaVan said. “We know each other very well, we’re going to put in our game plan the next two days and unleash the beast that we are.”
Grove City will take on Harbor Creek Saturday in the third-place game at a time and location to be determined.
CLASS 2A SEMIFINALS
(2) MAPLEWOOD 47, (3) CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS 46
MEADVILLE, Pa. – It was another Maplewood-Cambridge Springs classic, and this time it was Izzy Eimer playing the role of hero.
Eimer, Maplewood’s senior 1,000-point scorer, poured in a game-high 29 points, including the go-ahead 3-point play with 1:07 to go in a 47-46 District 10 Class 2A semifinal victory.
Eimer talked about the win afterward:
It was a reversal of fortune from last season, as Cambridge Springs knocked off the Tigers in the semifinal round after the teams split in the regular season.
“I wouldn’t trade her for anyone,” said Maplewood coach Kyle Krepps of Eimer. “She’s 100% all the time. As you can tell, it was a great crowd on both sides. This is what you get up for, and it’s been that way for the last three or four years.”
Eimer’s 3-point play set off a frenetic final 67 seconds. The foul was the fifth and final one on Cambridge Springs star Maddie Yanc, who matched Eimer seemingly shot for shot in the second half and finished with 21 points.
“She’s our leader,” said Cambridge Springs coach Ryan McKissock. “We would have probably would have gone to her there (in the closing sequence.)”
Cambridge Springs came down and missed a potential game-tying shot, and Eimer came down on the other end and shot a 3 that was off the mark, giving Cambridge Springs another chance.
KK Yanc got fouled driving to the basket with 19.5 seconds left trailing 47-45. She made the first and missed the second, but Cambridge Springs was able to get the offensive rebounds, and after the ball was deflected out of bounds with 4.5 second left, they called timeout.
The Blue Devils weren’t able to get a shot off, however, as Liliane Moorhead deflected the inbounds pass and the Tigers were able to come with the loose ball and got fouled, essentially ending the game.
“Not the ideal scenario, the way we did it,” Krepps said. “We let up an offensive rebound off the missed free throw, but the deflection by Liliane was what was key there.”
Cambridge Springs led 21-16 after a pair of free throws by Maddie Yanc with 4:53 to go in the half, but Maplewood responded with a 12-2 run that extended to the midway point of the third quarter.
They tied the game just before the half on a jumper from Sadie Thomas and took the lead to start the second half on a Bailey Varndell layup.
Maplewood led from that point until a layup off a steal from Finley Rauscher with 3:32 to play. A Moorhead free-throw got Maplewood back within one before Eimer’s 3-point play that ultimately sent the Tigers to the D10 title game.
Moorhead finished with seven points and Thomas six for Maplewood.
“We’ve been there before, but we always knew we were running into West Middlesex and they were loaded,” Krepps said.
They will once again meet the Big Reds on Saturday.
“Definitely looking forward to it,” Krepps added. “This was our goal at the beginning of the year.
KK Yanc finished with 15 points for Cambridge Springs and Rauscher four.
The season isn’t over for the defending D10 champion Blue Devils, as they will meet Cochranton in the third-place game and a trip to states on the line.
“The sun is going to come up tomorrow,” McKissock said. “We’re going to be back in the gym, we’ll try and get better, hopefully, play a little bit better in the next game and move on to the state tournament.”
CLASS 2A SEMIFINALS
(1)WEST MIDDLESEX 54, (4) COCHRANTON 39
SHARON, Pa. – The West Middlesex are back in a familiar position, the District 10 title game following a 54-39 semifinal win over Cochranton.
They used a formula that has played out many times this season, with Carlie Beatty (20) and Emily Anthony (18) combining for 38 points.
Cochranton hung with the Big Reds most of the way, but leading scorer on the season, Jaylin McGill, fouled out in the third quarter, dealing the Cardinals a big blow.
It was a 24-20 West Middlesex lead at the half, with the Big Reds outscoring the Cardinals 30-19 in the second half.
Kennedy Beatty and Caitlin Stephens scored five points apiece for West Middlesex, while Shelby McBryar led West Middlesex with 12 points.
Cochranton is still alive for a state playoff berth, and will meet No. 3 seed Cambridge Springs in the third-place game.
CLASS 6A SUBREGIONAL
(10-1) MCDOWELL 66, (8-1) ALLDERDICE 50
ERIE, Pa. – Amaiya Nelson led five McDowell players in double figures with 15 points as the Trojans earned a 66-50 Class 6A subregional win over Allderdice.
With the victory, they move on to play D-6 champion Mifflin County on Saturday.
The Trojans trailed by five, 17-12 at the end of the first quarter, but rallied to take a 32-26 halftime lead, which they extended to 46-34 after three quarters.
Caylen Spano and Kaeli Bennett added 13 points apiece for McDowell, while Jessica Hetz and Ella Gebhard tallied 10 each.
McDowell overcame a monster game from the Dragons’ Zaniya Murray, who poured in 37 points.
*Brian Hagberg contributed to this report
