Berlin Brothersvalley too much for Sewickley Academy girls in PIAA quarterfinals
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Saturday, March 16, 2019 | 6:41 PM
Sewickley Academy’s Kendall Lightcap dribbles down court while playing against Berlin during the Class AAA PIAA state basketball playoffs on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at Hempfield Area High School.
Sewickley Academy’s Kendall Lightcap throws a pass against Berlin defense during the Class AAA PIAA state basketball playoffs on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at Hempfield Area High School.
Sewickley Academy’s Myra Samuel looks for an opening against Berlin during the Class AAA PIAA state basketball playoffs on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at Hempfield Area High School.
Berlin Brothersvalley girls basketball is starting to smell the chocolate.
But before their fans can start launching Hershey’s Kisses at them, the Mountaineers have to dispose of section and District 5 rival Shanksville-Stoneycreek for the second time in four tries.
That will be Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. Shanksville-Stoneycreek won the two WestPAC South conference games, but Berlin Brothersvalley took the District 5 title game on March 3. One of the teams will be making their first trip to Hershey on Friday.
It would have been easy for the Berlin Brothersvalley girls to look ahead to their PIAA Class A semifinal-round game against rival Shanksville-Stoneycreek after the Vikings defeated Vincentian Academy in the first game of a tripleheader at Hempfield.
But the Mountaineers (23-5) didn’t in the second game. They rolled over a young Sewickley Academy squad, 61-23, by outscoring the WPIAL fourth-place team, 34-8, in the first half.
“It was a bad matchup for us,” Sewickley Academy coach Miriam Sy said. “They were a lot quicker and too physical for us.”
Junior forward Kiera Booth and senior center Zoie Smith were too much for Sewickley Academy’s inside players. Booth scored 20 points, had 12 rebounds and five steals. Smith scored 16 points and added eight rebounds.
“It’s a very special group,” Berlin Brothersvalley coach Rachel Prosser said. “We hold each other accountable. We work hard as a team.
“Shanksville-Stoneycreek is a very good team, and we’ll have to defend against their 3-pointer shooters. I felt we did a good job today.”
Junior guard Alexis Yanosky scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half as Berlin Brothersvalley stretched its lead to 61-20 on a 3-pointer by Yanosky with 6:00 left, which set-off the running clock for a 40-point lead.
“Kiera is a leader and does a great job leading us,” Prosser said. “She’s ready to go every game.”
Sewickley Academy (14-9) had trouble running its offense against Berlin Brothersvalley and had more turnovers, 30, than points. The Panthers also didn’t shoot the ball well, 4 for 23 in the first half, and only got to the foul line four times.
They also gave up too many odd-man breaks, which resulted in easy baskets for the Mountaineers.
“They’re a great team,” Sy said. “But this was a learning experience for our players. We’re playing with some sophomores and a freshman.
“They know they have to work harder and get more physical to play teams at this level. We’ll learn from this.”
Mia DelVecchio led Sewickley Academy with nine points.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Sewickley Academy
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