Myers leads Highlands girls past Laurel Highlands, into Class 4A quarterfinals

By: Mark Nitowski
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 | 9:30 PM

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Highlands’ Katelyn Myers carried her hot shooting into the playoffs, leading the host Golden Rams to a 54-34 victory over Laurel Highlands in a WPIAL Class 4A girls first-round game Tuesday evening.

A junior, Myers scored a game-high 21 points, including six 3-pointers. Four of those treys came in the first half when Highlands built a 30-22 advantage.

“Kate’s teammates know that she shoots the ball well,” Highlands coach Shawn Bennis said. “They were getting the ball to her early when (Laurel Highlands) was in a zone defense. It got them out of their zone pretty quickly, and we were able to run our man stuff that we executed overall pretty well.”

Kalleigh Nerone finished with 13 points, and Jocelyn Bielak added 12 for the Golden Rams. For Laurel Highlands, Miyak Harris and Aryianna Sumpter scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.

With the victory, No. 6 seed Highlands (15-7) advances to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season. The Rams will face No. 3 seed Elizabeth Forward on Friday at a time and site to be determined.

Myers scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, to stake Highlands to a 20-12 lead after the first quarter. Highlands’ Shelby Wojcik hit a three early in the second quarter to extend the Rams lead to 23-14.

But then Laurel Highlands rallied behind the play of Harris. The sophomore guard scored seven points in a row to cut the deficit to 23-21. Myers answered with her fourth 3-pointer, which ignited a seven-point run to give Highlands a 30-22 halftime edge.

“I think we had some playoff jitters early on, with us trying to force things and not letting it come to us,” Bennis said. “Kate coming out and hitting some threes got her feeling more confident.

“One thing I told the girls is that we can’t just settle for threes against Laurel Highlands. They’re pretty tall and rebound well. I thought we could end up be one and done (in the playoffs) if we were just shooting from the perimeter.”

Highlands began attacking the basket with more success in the second half. Bielak scored eight of her points in the fourth quarter, with several of the baskets coming on slashing drives to the hoop. On the defensive end, the Golden Rams limited the Mustangs to 12 points in the second half.

“We held them to 34 points (for the game), and I don’t think we played our best defensively,” Bennis said. “But overall, I was proud of their effort. They give you everything they have. They have great attitudes. I told them, ‘Advance and survive.’ ”

Laurel Highlands, which qualified for the playoffs as the fourth team from Section 3, finished the season with an 11-12 record. That was a major turnaround from last year, when the Mustangs won just one game.

Tags: Highlands, Laurel Highlands