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

Published Sunday, March 15, 1998

PIAA BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
Pirates 48, Eagles 40
KC girls are shaded by Pirates
* * *
State champs eliminate the Lady Eagles
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KC KNOCKED OUT 3RD YEAR IN ROW BY WILLIAMSBURG
By Ed Farrell
Herald Sports Writer

INDIANA, Pa. _ One of the pre-game goals Father Rick Tomasone established for his Kennedy Christian High School girls' basketball team was to score 50 points against Williamsburg in Saturday's PIAA Class A Western Regional semifinals.

Father Tomasone's rationale was that reaching the half-century mark should have been sufficient for his team's offensive output because defensively, he felt, his club could contain Williamsburg to less than 50.

The Lady Golden Eagles' defense held up its end of the bargain, but a lackluster first-half offensive performance cost Kennedy in a 48-40 setback at Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Memorial Field House.

By virtue of the victory, defending PIAA champion Williamsburg advanced to the West title tilt for the sixth straight season, while Kennedy concluded its campaign at 25-4.

``I told our kids (Friday) that I thought we needed to score 50 points, 'cause I didn't think they could score 50 on us, and that would be what we would need to win the game,'' Father Tomasone related. ``But, offensively in the first half _ and it's probably a tribute to their defense _ we didn't execute, we didn't screen well, we didn't do those little things to get our shooters open. And I think that hurt us an awful lot.''

The Lady Golden Eagles committed a dozen first-half miscues and connected on only 6 of 20 floor shots, compared with Williamsburg's 9-for-19 shooting which enabled the Lady Bucs to build a 24-14 halftime lead. Eight and seven points, respectively, from Carrie Hoy and Trisha Lower paced Williamsburg.

The Lady Pirates possibly could have padded that lead, as Kennedy was guilty of 14 personals _ twice as many as Williamsburg _ but the victors converted only 6 of 14 freebies.

Lower's pair of baskets keyed a 6-0 Williamsburg spree at the outset of the second half as the Lady Pirates assumed a 30-14 margin, and Hoy's steal and score at the 6:02 juncture extended that to 34-16.

However nine Jamie Cicuto points, a Sara Laslow jumper and a Katie Meier layup enabled Kennedy to outscore Williamsburg, 13-5, and close within 39-29 by the third-quarter turn.

A Meier drive, Fill foul-line jumper and Cicuto post-up move at the outset of the fourth frame drew the Lady Golden Eagles within 39-35 with 6:10 remaining in regulation. Then Meier's layup off a backdoor cut and another of her drives offset a Jess Lilly free throw and layup, as Kennedy closed to within 42-39 with 3:10 left. But that was as close as it would get.

Hoy knocked down four free throws in the final 2:06 and Lower and Kelly Bellew each contributed one, and Kennedy could not capitalize on a pair of Williamsburg turnovers. Cicuto's freebie with 37.3 seconds left was the Lady Golden Eagles' lone point in the game's final 3-plus minutes.

``Not only the turnovers (15), but the missed foul shots (6 for 13) hurt an awful lot,'' Father Tomasone assessed. ``When we got the (Williamsburg) lead down to 5 or 3 and we get a foul shot or a `look' from the foul line and we don't hit that shot, I mean, we can't ask our kids to get better `looks' than that. ... but the ball didn't go down, and that's part of the game of basketball.

``You ask your kids to play their best and play with all their heart, and I thought our kids _ particularly in the second half _ did that,'' Father Tomasone said. ``They played smart, they did what they had to do. We just got ourselves into a hole that was a little too deep to dig ourselves out of.''

``It looked like we were gonna, maybe, fold, but we've been there before, and the kids got together in the huddle and said, `Hey, look, we knew this was gonna be a good game.'[TH]'' assessed 16th-year Williamsburg head coach Jeff Appleman. ``We were just lucky to be that far ahead when they made their run.''

``It's a good rivalry; there's no harsh words. But I don't think you're gonna see it the next couple years _ we're gonna be down _ so maybe it'll be Kennedy Christian or somebody else.''

``I don't know that it was, so much, a `Williamburg thing,' Father Tomasone analyzed. ``We, deep down, felt that we could play with them and beat them, if we played well.

``I thought we had a really good season together,'' Father Tomasone said. ``This is the first time this season that we lost to a (Class) A team.

Our other three losses were to good triple-A programs (North Catholic, Villa Maria and Franklin). ... and we beat the Quad-A District 10 champion, McDowell.

``When you get in the playoffs, especially at this round, there's no easy nights; you have to come out ready to play. And that's why you play the game, to compete, and you want to compete at the highest level ... and that's what athletics, really, is all about. And win or lose, you still learn from it.''

Meier and Mary Rachel Pearce played their final games for Kennedy.

``(Meier and Pearce) will be hard to replace, because so much was focused on them and their personalities,'' Father Tomasone concluded.

Notes: Kennedy, which had a 15-game winning skein snapped, finished 17 of 50 (34 percent) from the floor, compared with Williamsburg's 17-for-34 performance. However, the Lady Pirates (28-3) converted only 14 of 30 free-throw attempts. ... Lilly's 11 caroms enabled Williamsburg to outrebound Kennedy, 35-28, although Cicuto collared 10 for the and Tara Stevens had eight for KC. ... Williamsburg was guilty of 21 turnovers, 11 in the second half.

PIAA Class A Quarterfinals

KENNEDY CHRISTIAN _ Meier 6-2-3-14; Pearce 0-0-0-0; Cicuto 7-4-10-18; Laslow 1-0-0-2; Stevens 2-0-0-4; Christiansen 0-0-0-0; Fill 1-0-0-2; Camouse 0-0-0-0; Lanier 0-0-0-0. Totals: 17-6-13-40.

 WILLIAMSBURG _ Lower 4-5-10-13; Lilly 6-1-4-13; Hileman 1-0-4-2; Metzler 1-0-0-2; Hoy 5-4-6-14; Bellew 0-4-6-4; Irvin 0-0-0-0; Appleman 0-0-2-0. Totals: 17-14-30-48.

KENNEDY CHRISTIAN .....6  14  29  40
WILLIAMSBURG .........11  24  39  48

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Updated March 16, 1998
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