Apollo-Ridge upends Charleroi in girls Class 3A playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | 10:48 PM

Apollo-Ridge got knocked down early in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's WPIAL Class 3A first-round girls basketball game against Charleroi at Peters Township.

The Vikings led by eight going into the fourth quarter, but that lead quickly evaporated, and the No. 6 Cougars seized momentum.

But No. 11 Apollo-Ridge responded over the last five minutes, and a 12-1 run in the remaining 1 minute, 51 seconds secured a 47-35 victory.

“We talked at halftime about being ready for their run,” said Apollo-Ridge coach Jim Callipare, who saw his team overcome 23 turnovers.

“Charleroi is a good, senior-oriented team, and it wasn't a matter of if they were going to make a run, but when. We knew we had to withstand that. We had a lead to play with. It was OK if we made a few mistakes, but we just didn't want them to get the lead. We weren't perfect by any stretch, but we showed heart and hustle and got the job done.”

The Vikings (11-12), who missed the playoffs last season, moved into the quarterfinals and will play No. 3 Neshannock (19-3) at noon Saturday at West Allegheny.

“We're going to enjoy this one a little bit and then prepare for a big task in Neshannock,” Callipare said. “They are one of the best defensive teams I've seen. We look forward to the challenge.”

Ahead by one with a little under two minutes left, the Vikings went to work from the free-throw line.

Apollo-Ridge hit 10 of its final 12 from the line.

“We definitely practice that the whole week,” Vikings senior forward Megan Ost said. “It was foul shots, foul shots, foul shots. It paid off.”

The Vikings hit 15 of 21 free throws.

“You always see in the playoffs, free throws win games,” Callipare said.

Ost finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, and junior guard Madalyn Moore scored a team-best 14 points. Junior guard Elizabeth Penrose, who made two key 3-pointers as part of a 14-4 first-quarter advantage for Apollo-Ridge, finished with 10 points.

The Vikings played without 6-foot-2 freshman starter Madison Marks because of illness. Callipare said it was too early to determine her playing status for Saturday.

Charleroi, runner-up to undefeated East Allegheny in Section 2, concluded its season at 19-4. The Vikings held the Cougars 22 points under their season average.

“They had a great game plan coming in,” Charleroi coach Kevin Lee said. “They had us bottled up on offense and shut my two scorers down. Give credit to (Callipare) and the way his team played defense. Their defense smothered us.”

Charleroi's leading scorer, senior guard Kaitlyn Riley, scored a team-best 13 points to with nine rebounds. Fellow senior Maria Claybaugh, who averaged 15.9 points in the regular season, was limited to six points, all in the first half. She also had six steals.

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

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Charleroi