Apollo-Ridge girls look forward to rematch with Shady Side Academy

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, January 25, 2023 | 10:58 PM

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Sydney McCray feels that the Apollo-Ridge girls basketball team didn’t show its best in the first meeting with highly ranked Shady Side Academy on Jan. 2.

The Bulldogs won 66-34 in the matchup of the top two teams in the Section 3-3A standings.

McCray, a senior guard, said the Vikings now are ready to meet what will be another stiff challenge against the section leaders as they hope to continue to build on their resume. Apollo-Ridge, 15-2 overall and 4-1 in the section, hosts Shady Side Academy (13-2, 5-0) on Thursday at 7:30.

“We weren’t as mentally prepared to play that first game for whatever reason,” McCray said. “We prepared by watching film, and the coaches put together a good gameplan, but we just didn’t execute for the whole game like we needed, and (Shady Side) took advantage. They are a really strong team.

Apollo-Ridge committed eight turnovers in the first quarter of that first meeting, and Shady Side held a 19-4 lead after the first eight minutes.

“But after that, we really focused on what we needed to do. Getting wins that we needed against teams like Deer Lakes and Burrell, we’ve come back stronger as a team. Obviously, we have to be at our best (Thursday). We’re excited for the game.”

Apollo-Ridge has won seven straight, including the section wins over Deer Lakes, 50-43, and Burrell, 57-45.

Junior guard Sophie Yard said Jan. 16’s 60-40 win over a Mt. Pleasant team rife with playoff aspirations brought the team even closer.

“We all really came together as we knew how important that game was,” she said. “We were communicating and playing for each other. The shots were falling. We got the lead and didn’t let up.”

Yard finished the game with a career-best 25 points, while fellow senior McCray added 16.

“We’re improved a lot since the beginning of the season, but even now, we’re not entirely where we want to be,” Yard said. “Passing within plays, I think that is something anyone can improve on.”

Vikings coach Ray Bartha said after that game that he didn’t expect the 20-point margin of victory, but he was pleased with the way his team put it together on the offensive end and limited one of the WPIAL’s leading scorers, Tiffany Zelmore, to 21 points after she came in averaging close to 30 a game.

He said he hopes that kind of performance can be what carries the team the rest of the regular season as it strives to secure a strong position in the Class 2A tournament.

It’s all section games the rest of the way for Apollo-Ridge.

The team visits Ligonier Valley on Monday before hosting Deer Lakes and Burrell before hitting the road for the rematch with Mt. Pleasant to close out the regular season Feb. 9.

“If we play our hardest, I think we can play with any team,” Brinley Toland said. “I am confident of that. For us, it comes down to playing the way we’ve already showed in games like Mt. Pleasant and others. If someone makes a good play, we want to build on it. If someone makes a mistake, we have to make sure we put that behind us and go on to the next chance to make a play.

“We’re in a good position, and this is the kind of season we looked forward to having. But we are not satisfied. We have more to do.”

While Brinley Toland, Yard and McCray have been consistent scoring leaders throughout this season, sophomore Kyler Toland has been a factor at both ends of the court as she continues to find her niche for the Vikings after an upstart freshman season as a starter.

She reunited on the court with big sister Brinley, and she is excited to again help the team put wins on the scoreboard.

“Last year was a learning process coming from middle school,” said Kylar, who started this season big by averaging 16 points in a pair of victories at the Frazier Tournament. “It was a much faster pace, and I knew that I had to just keep working hard and trust my abilities. Things were a lot of fun at the end of the year, and all those experiences really gave me a lot of motivation to drive harder for this year.

The team recently received a lift when sophomore Paige Crawford returned to practice after being sidelined since early in the fall soccer season because of a concussion.

The process, Crawford said, is one of caution as she tests herself and reads how her body is responding to the uptick in physical activity.

“I still working through some things, and I am trying to not overdue it,” she said. “I’ve felt tired quickly at first as I work to get my conditioning back. But it has improved. It is great to be back playing with my teammates. It was tough to not be out there with them.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge