St. Joseph earns 1st state playoff win in seniors’ last game on home court

By: Michael Love
Saturday, March 9, 2024 | 4:25 PM

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There was history being made by both St. Joseph teams coming into their PIAA Class A first-round game Saturday in Natrona Heights.

The St. Joseph Spartans, the senior-laden WPIAL runner-up, had done so much that had never been done before in program history the past several years. But Saturday’s game was the first state playoff game at home.

It also was a chance for them to earn their first PIAA tournament win.

For St. Joseph Catholic Academy from Boalsburg, a youthful squad in just its second season of existence, Saturday’s contest was a venture into uncharted territory. After going 0-17 last year, the Wolfpack, the third-place team from District 6 with four sophomores in the starting lineup and just one senior on the roster, were making their PIAA debut.

In the end, experience won out as the Spartans got a game-best 23 points from senior Julie Spinelli and 14 more from fellow senior Emma Swierczewski in a 57-35 victory in front of a sizeable and spirited home crowd. The win was a bounce-back effort after last Saturday’s overtime heartbreaker against Union in the WPIAL title game at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

“After losing last Saturday, we didn’t want to quit,” Swierczewski said. “It was important, especially on our home court, to get another win. It wasn’t a good first game at states last year after we lost to Union, so we worked hard to make sure that didn’t happen again. This week, we came back strong and knew we had a great opportunity in front of us.”

The Spartans seniors played on their home court for the final time, but they have more time together as they turn their attention to a second-round game Wednesday against the winner of Saturday’s game between Berlin and Clarion at a site and time to be determined.

“The girls have been a close group, but after last week’s game, they’re even closer,” Spartans coach Geoff Dutelle said.

“I had a harder time getting back into it than they did. They were ready to go, knowing that this was a whole new tournament. We talked about how special it was to get to play one more game in this gym. They wanted to keep playing with each other and being together. They played really well today, and they are moving on.”

The Spartans were routed last season by District 6 Williamsburg in the PIAA first round, and they lost by 16 to District 5 champion Shanksville in the 2022 first round.

But there was no WPIAL title-game hangover Saturday. Despite surrendering the game’s first four points and a 3-pointer to sophomore Naomi Crispin that gave the Wolfpack an early 8-7 lead, the Spartans started to flex their muscles defensively and also under the basket at both ends of the court.

The Spartans went on a 9-4 run to close out the first quarter and lead 16-11. They then opened the second on a 9-0 run.

The run was halted by a free throw from Crispin. The point guard, the daughter of former Penn State men’s standout and current Nittany Lions assistant Joe Crispin, finished with a team-high 18 points. But the Spartans defense, particularly Spinelli and junior Gia Richter, limited the damage she is known to cause through her passing and shooting.

The Spartans led 29-18 at halftime and pulled away in the third quarter. Their biggest lead was 26 points at 48-22 heading to the fourth.

With the game well in hand with about three minutes remaining in the final quarter, Dutelle began to sub out his seniors to rousing applause from the student section and the rest of the Spartans faithful who jam-packed the home side of the gym at the Walter Dublak Athletic Center.

“It was such an amazing atmosphere, and honestly, it helped us play even better too, knowing we had all of that support behind us,” Spinelli said. “The support has been there all season and all playoffs. I played my middle school games here too, so this is my home court. This was a really good game to end that, knowing it is (the seniors’) last game here.”

Swierczewski joined Spinelli in double figures for the Spartans with 14 points and eight rebounds. Senior Anna Kreinbrook added six points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and Richter tallied eight points and eight rebounds.

Wolfpack sophomore Aubrey Yartz finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points to go along with 11 rebounds.

Wolfpack coach Bethany Irwin, who came to St. Joseph after more than two decades at nearby State College, knows the future is bright. Almost everyone returns from a team that finished 25-3 after its winless season a year ago.

“A lot of credit to that team,” Irwin said of the Spartans. “They have so much experience, and they are tall, and you can’t teach height. That forced us to adjust a lot of things. I hope they go as far as they can. We’ve only been playing a couple of months together, and we’re ecstatic that we got this far. We have so much to build on. Our goal was to win our league, and we did that. There were so many new things for these girls throughout these playoffs. I know they’ve learned so much that they can use in the future.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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