Unbeaten Chartiers Valley girls roll past Slippery Rock in PIAA 2nd round

By: Greg Macafee
Wednesday, March 13, 2019 | 8:26 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

When the final buzzer sounded Wednesday evening at Moon Area High School, the Chartiers Valley girls basketball team left the same way they came in, undefeated.

Led by an energized effort from senior Mackenzie Wagner and freshman Aislin Malcolm, who scored 12 and 13 points, respectively, the WPIAL Class 5A champions cruised to an easy victory over Division 10 runner-up Slippery Rock, 54-35, and will move on to Saturday’s quarterfinals.

“I feel like this win builds a lot of confidence in our team,” Wagner said. “We have been working really hard through our practices, with playoffs, WPIALs and state playoffs. But, we’re just going to put this game in the past and focus on the next one.”

Through the first five minutes of the game, the two teams traded buckets and went shot for shot as each tried to gain an edge. While Slippery Rock (20-6) contained Chartiers Valley (27-0) with an intense 2-3 zone, the Colts countered with a just as intense full-court press.

With the scored tied at 6 around the 3-minute mark, Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell called a timeout to collect his team. He delivered a message his team needed to hear.

“They were playing that zone, and we couldn’t really get any cutters into the middle,” McConnell said. “Once we did, we got a couple 3s, we got a couple lay-ups, and that right there just kind of opened up the rest of the game for us.”

From that point on there seemed to be a lid on the hoop for Slippery Rock, and the Colts finished off the quarter on a 12-0 run and added 15 points in the second quarter, while the Rockets were only able to manage three free throws the rest of the first half.

The Colts’ effort throughout that 11-minute stretch was noticeable. They created turnovers, got big rebounds in the paint and ultimately took control of the game. It was a key stretch that ultimately led to the Colts’ 27th win of the season.

“We just had to focus on not letting them drive and create the foul on us,” Wagner said. “So, we were just trying to help each other and get into the gaps to prevent that.”

Throughout the second half, the Colts continued to pile on to their lead. Megan McConnell got going with four early second-half points, then Gabby Legister and Perri Page paced Chartiers Valley late in the second half.

Slippery Rock did come on strong toward the end of the game, scoring 20 fourth-quarter points after McConnell had entered his bench players into the game.

On Saturday, the Colts will take on Oakland Catholic at a site and time to be determined.

Tags: Chartiers Valley