Greensburg Central Catholic girls shut down Burrell for victory

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, December 30, 2017 | 12:13 AM

During a timeout Friday night, coach Joe Eisaman's hoarse-sounding voice resonated throughout his team's huddle.

“Give me something more,” Eisaman implored. “Go after it. Finish them off.”

His Grensburg Central Catholic girls basketball team obliged, locking down Burrell in the second half for a 49-35 victory in a holiday tournament at Hempfield.

GCC (2-5) used an 11-0 run in the third quarter, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers by Olivia Stawovy, to build a 47-27 lead.

“I'm happy the girls competed,” Eisaman said. “We didn't do it for 32 minutes, but we're getting better. We've played some stiff competition, and we're going to be in for some more stiff competition when we get into the heart of the section schedule.”

Anna Eisaman scored 20 points to lead Class 2A Greensburg Central Catholic, which ended a three-game losing streak. Bella Skatell added 13 points and Stawovy 12 for the Centurions.

Brittany Dunn scored 18 points and Kaylen Sharrow 12 to lead Class 4A Burrell (2-5), which lost its third in a row.

“We were in the game for a while, but we really couldn't handle their pressure well enough,” first-year Burrell coach Meaghan Volek said. “They're very well-coached, and they do a lot of different things with their presses and half-court traps. These are good nonconference games for us.”

Both teams will be eager to settle into more familiar territory when 2018 arrives.

“We want to use these games to teach our girls what we need to be doing to be successful,” Volek said.

After both teams play one more game each Saturday at the Hempfield tournament, they'll return to their section schedules.

In Class 2A Section 3, GCC will take a 1-2 section record into a game Jan. 8 at Bentworth. The Centurions' other games have included one-sided losses to perennial powers Oakland Catholic and Villa Maria Academy of District 10.

Both of Burrell's victories have come in Class 4A Section 1 games against Highlands, giving it a 2-1 mark in the section. The Bucs will resume their section schedule Thursday at Deer Lakes.Burrell's previous nonsection losses came against Shady Side Academy, Armstrong and Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.

“My squad is small,” Volek said, “but I really believe in these girls, and I'd take them over anybody.”

For coach Eisaman and GCC, there have been periods of promise, but he has higher hopes.After losing all five starters from a team that won 19 games a year ago, GCC is developing a new identity.

“We've only got three players (Anna Eisaman, Skatell and Stawovy) with previous varsity experience, and none of them were starters,” Eisaman said. “But those three were big for us tonight. We got 45 points combined from them, and that's what we're going to need every time out.”

Dave Mackall is a freelance writer.

Tags: Burrell, Greensburg C.C.