Apollo-Ridge girls lose to Neshannock, still have shot at PIAAs

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 24, 2018 | 8:18 PM

Apollo-Ridge has a new rooting interest.

After Saturday's 50-22 loss to No. 3 Neshannock in the WPIAL girls 3A quarterfinals at West Allegheny, the Vikings are hoping the Lancers can secure a berth in next Saturday's title game at Petersen Events Center. That would mean, under the WPIAL's follow-the-leader format for determining certain PIAA playoff qualifiers, Apollo-Ridge would secure a spot in the state tournament.

The top six teams enter the PIAA playoffs in Class 3A. The four semifinalists already have earned trips to states, and the two teams that lose to the WPIAL finalists in the quarterfinals also qualify.

Neshannock (20-3) plays No. 2 seed East Allegheny (23-0) on Wednesday at a site and time to be announced Sunday.

“We hope to get a little rest over the next couple of days to get some bumps and bruises healed,” Apollo-Ridge coach Jim Callipare said. “We might meet Monday and go over some things. We're definitely going to be Neshannock fans (Wednesday).”

Apollo-Ridge hoped to keep up momentum built from Wednesday's first-round victory, but the Vikings and Lancers came out sluggish the first quarter.

Despite seven first-quarter turnovers and a number of other empty possessions, Apollo-Ridge only trailed 8-4 after eight minutes.

But things then went downhill for the Vikings.

Senior forward Megan Ost drew her third foul 32 seconds into the quarter, and she missed the rest of the first half.

With just more than a minute until halftime, junior Maddy Moore, the team's second-leading scorer behind Ost, went down with an ankle injury after putting up a shot.

She limped off the court, returned to the bench on crutches at the start of the second half but later left the school for further evaluation.

Callipare said Moore's availability for a possible state playoff game — the PIAA tournament begins March 9 — is unclear.

Neshannock outscored Apollo-Ridge, 15-2, in the second quarter and took a 23-6 lead into halftime.

“I thought we had our opportunities early,” Callipare said.

“We just missed a lot of layups and free throws. (Neshannock) seemed to be a little rusty to start because of their long layoff, and we wanted to take advantage of that. We were getting good looks, but we just didn't capitalize on them.

“As the game progressed, they started getting into their rhythm. Against good teams, you have to do the little things well.”

Neshannock, the Section 1 champion, had not played since a win over New Castle in its regular-season finale Feb. 12.

The Lancers held an opponent under 30 points for the eighth time this season and are averaging just 36.1 points allowed overall.

“We did what we had to do,” Neshannock coach Luanne Grybowski said. “We hit some shots, played good defense and rebounded. (Apollo-Ridge) is tough. They played aggressive and never quit.”

Apollo-Ridge managed only five field goals and were 12 of 23 from the foul line.

Ost picked up her fourth foul with 4:57 left in the third quarter, but she stayed foul-free the rest of the game.

She scored seven points in the fourth and finished with a team-best 12.

The Lancers had three players score in double figures, led by 14 from Isabella Burrelli. She also pulled down 11 rebounds.

Carmella Matarazzo added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Brianna Dean also scored 12.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Neshannock