The Herald, Sharon, Pa: Winter sports '97-'98

Published Sunday, March 8, 1998

PIAA GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
Eagles 80, Steelerettes 17
KC crushes Farrell

By Brad Isles
Herald Sports Writer

Practicing for two consecutive weeks without the benefit of an actual game can get monotonous. Such was the problem for Farrell coach Lou Paris, whose Steelerettes last played, and lost, to Mount Alvernia on Feb. 19 in the WPIAL quarterfinals.

So it was no surprise then that Steelerettes struggled to regain their game legs Saturday at Sharon High School in the first round of the PIAA Class A playoffs. What made it even harder was taking on a powerful Kennedy Christian team and seeing them do virtually everything right en route to an 80-17 victory.

``You cannot simulate getting on the bus, going somewhere and playing against another team of that caliber,'' Paris said. ``To get the younger kids, that I stuck in at the end of the game, to emulate a team like Kennedy, that's not going to happen.

``It was tough for two weeks. I think the WPIAL should take a look at that. Do I think we belong here, yes and no. No, we lost in the WPIAL. We got a reprieve with Mount Alvernia winning the WPIAL title. The two week layoff is tough. You've got kids for two weeks with no game coming up.''

Kennedy coach Father Rick Tomasone sympathized.

``I feel bad for the 7-5s,'' Father Tomasone said in reference to the WPIAL No. 5 seeds. ``They kind of ride the coattails of the 7-1 team, whomever that might be. It's difficult to keep the kids motivated. I don't think what they played today is any indication of where they played during the season. I think they're probably much better.''

The Lady Golden Eagles will play McConnellsburg, a 53-42 winner over Quigley Catholic, Wednesday at a site and time to be determined. Farrell's season is over.

Kennedy Christian (24-3) got 20 points and 14 rebounds from Jamie Cicuto, while Katie Christiansen came off the bench to post a career-high 20 points.

The Lady Golden Eagles forced Farrell (17-7) into 28 turnovers, 17 of which were steals. The Steelerettes also shot a dismal 8.3 percent (4 of 48), didn't hit a field goal in the first or fourth quarters and didn't score a point until the 4:14 mark of the second quarter when Angie Santell hit a pair of free throws. By that point, it was 24-2.

``We had trouble even getting into our offense,'' Paris said. ``When we did, we caught a lot of other players standing around. Again, intensity with defense causes that. That's a tribute to Kennedy Christian. Father Rick has a really good program that's been around for a long time. I think other programs, if they want to evaluate their own, would try to strive to be a program like that.''

Santell gave Farrell its first field goal of the game, a 3-pointer, with 22 seconds left in the half. Kennedy, though, held a 36-5 advantage at intermission.

Kennedy's dominance carried over into the third quarter, in which Cicuto scored 14 of her points. She ran off six-straight points to make it a 53-10 game with three minutes left in the third.

After a Nicole Scott putback made it 53-12, Kennedy countered with a 7-point run to lead 60-12 heading into the final frame.

``I think that they all played very well,'' Father Tomasone said of his team. ``As I was telling my assistant coach (Mike Ferry), great teams know when it's time to turn it up and play great. I think today, everybody knew it was an occasion to turn it up a little bit and play great.''

With the starters on the bench, Kennedy's reserves took over and played just as well, led by Christiansen's 11 fourth-quarter points. She had three consecutive baskets to make it 68-14 with five minutes left.

``By the final score, you can see we were a little overwhelmed,'' Paris said. ``I put a game plan in for the week and we practiced against it. But when you face intensity and pressure on the court that takes you out of the game plan. That's what they did.''

Even with the loss, the turnaround from last year to this one was remarkable for the Steelerettes.

``We had a great year,'' Paris said. ``That doesn't take anything away from what we did. Last year we only won three games. This year they came out and won 17 for me.''

Notes: Santell led the Steelerettes with 8 points, while Lashawnda Smith scored 7. ... Kennedy committed 13 turnovers and shot 43 percent, making 27 of 63 attempts. ... All 12 of Kennedy's players who saw action scored. ... It was the 14th consecutive win for the Lady Golden Eagles.

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Updated March 9, 1998
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