North Allegheny girls steamroll Cumberland Valley to reach state finals

By: Phil Cmor
Monday, March 22, 2021 | 7:22 PM

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ALTOONA — It took a few minutes to warm the engine. Once North Allegheny got revved up, though, it was clear the Tigers’ well-oiled machine was primed for a trip to Hershey.

North Allegheny overcame its early-game malaise with a huge second-quarter run to punch its ticket into the PIAA Class 6A girls basketball championship game with a 66-40 semifinal victory over perennial state power Cumberland Valley on Monday at the Altoona Area High School Field House.

“We just played really hard, we played really smart, and we played together,” Tigers senior Lizzy Groetsch said. “We just really turned the pressure up. We were running. We were making the extra pass.

“It’s huge. Ever since my freshman year, we’ve been a really strong program, but we’ve never been able to get over that hurdle (of winning a state championship). It’s always been our goal. The fact that it’s my senior year and we’re here and we have the chance is really special.”

Groetsch scored a game-high 24 points for the Tigers (26-1), who’ll be making the program’s second trip to the state championship game – they lost there in 2017 to Boyertown. Senior Paige Morningstar added 14 points for North Allegheny, and sophomore Jasmine Timmerson netted seven of her 11 points in the third quarter as the Tigers forged a lead of as many as 30.

“Last year (before the covid stoppage), we were in the same position. We thought we could go all the way. Knowing this year we can actually finish it on the floor, that’s what’s huge,” Morningstar said. “Once we settled in, we started moving the ball, and we just ran with it.”

The Tigers found it tough to get a shot in the early going, turning the ball over six times in the opening period while going 4 for 9 from the field in the first quarter. In spite of that, North Allegheny was tied at 16 when Emma Fischer read a pass at midcourt and took it in for a layup.

That helped ignite an 18-0 run that handed the Tigers a 29-16 lead and ended with both of Cumberland Valley’s Jekot sisters — Jill and Julie — on the bench with three fouls.

“We got our momentum up, and everyone was so excited. We’ve been waiting for this moment forever. It’s fun,” Fischer said. “We knew what we had to do.”

North Allegheny forced seven turnovers in the second quarter, five of them steals that enabled the Tigers to raise the tempo. By halftime, North Allegheny’s lead bubbled to 17.

“There were no adjustments. In fact, I even pulled back on instruction and just went to instinct. They just started flying around and creating things on defense,” Tigers coach Spencer Stefko said.

Jill Jekot’s 13 points fronted Cumberland Valley (21-2). The Eagles, who beat North Allegheny by a point in the 2016 PIAA semifinals and were playing without starting forward Dejah Hill because of an injury, led by five early in the second quarter before things avalanched against them.

“We were playing pretty well,” Cumberland Valley coach Bill Wolf said. “Once the Jekot girls went out, our bench got really short, and they’re a great team. It would have been a tall task to beat them with all of our girls. Ultimately, we did not have the girls that could overcome a team that could win a state championship.”

Tags: North Allegheny