Published Wednesday, March 17, 1999
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
Lady Eagles bow out at superb 26-3
EAST ALLEGHENY'S BROOKE STEWART TOO MUCH FOR KC
By Ed Farrell
Herald Sports Writer
BUTLER -- His team having just been eliminated from the PIAA Class AA playoffs, Kennedy Christian High School girls basketball coach Father Rick Tomasone waxed philosophic.
"When you step into the competitive arena, somebody's gonna win and somebody's gonna lose according to the scoreboard. But true greatness is not determined by who has the most points; true greatness is, if you stumble and fall, your ability to get back up and get back into the fray. And I think that our kids are resilient, and I think they'll be back up soon,'' Father Tomasone said following his club's 60-54 setback Tuesday to East Allegheny in a second-round clash at Butler High School.
The Lady Cats were led by 3,000-point scorer Brooke Stewart, who posted a game-high 30 points as she continued her pursuit of the WPIAL scoring standard (3,364).
The spindly-legged Stewart slashed her way to a 9-for-19 shooting night, but augmented that with 12-for-17 marksmanship from the free-throw line. She was complemented by LaTae Cooley's 15-point, 11-rebound double-double and eight third-period Patti Matovich points that enabled the Wildcats to extend a 27-24 halftime lead to a considerably more comfortable 44-34 margin by the third-quarter turn.
"We were so intent on doing what we needed to do to stop Brooke Stewart that you're gonna give up some other things 'cause you can't guard everybody and still take her away,'' Tomasone said. "So we did our best to slow her down a little bit, but we weren't real effective tonight, unfortunately. We were really looking to take a charge or two early and just never got it done.''
Cooley's 5-point, 5-rebound effort, complemented by Stewart's five markers, staked WPIAL champion East Allegheny to a 14-12 first-period lead, offsetting Jamie Cicuto's 4-point, 6-rebound performance.
Katie Christiansen's six points off the bench and an additional six points split between Sara Laslow and Cicuto were not enough to offset a 5-for-15 shooting performance and Stewart's nine points, as East Allegheny assumed that 3-point margin at intermission.
A Laslow layup less than a minute into the second half drew Kennedy within 27-26, but that was a close as the Lady Golden Eagles would come. An 8-2 spree during the last 3:49 of the third period enabled East Allegheny to build that 10-point bulge entering the fourth frame.
Christiansen and Laslow tallied buckets during the first 74 seconds of the finale as KC cut its deficit to 44-38. Then Cicuto's traditional 3-point play with 4:01 left drew the Lady Golden Eagles within 50-45.
However, during the final frame East Allegheny turned in 10-for-16 shooting from the charity stripe to secure the win despite Cicuto's 8-point, 4-rebound career curtain call. Stewart, held without a field goal during the last 3:22, nonetheless turned in 5-for-8 marksmanship from the line.
"We were trying to take away her drives,'' Father Tomasone said of Stewart. "I don't think she hit an outside shot all night; she got everything going to the basket and (via) foul shots. So we, pretty much, had that scouted out. It's just that, knowing what you have to do and being able to execute it are two different things, and it's difficult.''
Cicuto, Laslow, Christiansen, Tara Stevens and Julie Fill collectively concluded their KC careers.
"Three of them (Cicuto, Stevens and Laslow) have been 3-year starters, Julie is a 3-year letterwinner, and Katie is a 2-year letterwinner, so certainly all of them have been around the program,'' Tomasone said. "So, it's one of those things where it's tough to say goodbye to them. They've been together for four years; they've grown up together -- Tara and Jamie go back all the way to their St. Joe's days, so it's a lot longer for those two -- but it's hard, because their relationship will not be the same any longer.''
Notes: Cicuto finished with a 19-point, 17-rebound double-double and concluded her Kennedy career with 1,541 points and 1,322 rebounds, surpassing Andrea Fridley in the former (1,454) and ending just shy of her latter mark (1,397). ... Christiansen and Laslow added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for Kennedy (26-3), whose three losses occurred to defending PIAA-AA titlist Girard, Class AAA power Franklin, and East Allegheny (28-2). ... KC connected on 23 of 56 (41 percent) floor shots, but only half of its 14 freebies, compared with respective totals of 19 of 51 (37.2) and 21 of 31 (67.7) for East Allegheny. ... Kennedy committed 18 turnovers, compared with 10 for the Lady Cats. ... Led by Cicuto, KC outrebounded the winners, 37-31.
* * *
PIAA AA SECOND ROUND
KENN. CHRISTIAN 12 12 10 20 54
EAST ALLEGHENY 14 13 17 16 60
KENNEDY CHRISTIAN -- Camouse 0-1-2-1; Laslow 5-0-0-11; Cicuto 8-3-7-19; Stevens 2-0-1-4; Fill 2-0-0-4; Frankovich 0-0-0-0; Meier 1-0-0-2; Christiansen 5-3-4-13; Necastro 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Laslow 1. Totals: 23-7-14-54.
EAST ALLEGHENY -- Stewart 9-12-17-30; Paisley 0-0-0-0; Cooley 4-7-8-15; Kerston 1-2-4-5; Matovich 4-0-0-8; Stanonik 1-0-2-2. 3-pt. goals: Kerston 1. Totals: 19-21-31-60.
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Updated March 19, 1999
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