On Saturday, March 2nd, the Bethel Park Girls Varsity Basketball team defeated the Chartiers Valley Colts at the AJ Palumbo Center at Duquesne. Bethel Park jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the first quarter and led 12-6 after one quarter.
Bethel Park then continued to play a strong first half, and led 18-11 at the half. In the first half, the Lady Hawks were led mainly by junior Harper Zimmer, who scored 8 of the teams 18 first half points.
In the second half, Chartiers Valley made a run to attempt to come back but Bethel Park continued to play very strong defense and led 25-16 after the third quarter. Bethel Park’s consistent scoring and exceptional defense allowed them to maintain and extend their lead in the fourth quarter, and with a minute-and-a-half left, the Lady Hawks led 39-29.
Bethel Park then continued to sink their free throws and ended the game strong, defeating the Chartiers Valley Colts 48-34. The 3-seed Bethel Park’s scoring was led by Mariah Penascino, who was scoreless in the first half but was on fire in the second half, scoring 15 points and leading the Lady Hawks to their first ever WPIAL Championship in Girls Basketball.
When I asked Mariah about the game, she said, “I feel honored to be a Lady Hawk and to have led my team to win the Championship. Words truly cannot describe how I felt when the seconds counted down on that score board.”
Other key players in Bethel Park’s victory were Harper Zimmer (11 points, 8 of which came in the first half), Samantha Simpson (8 points), Megan Marecic (7 points), and Paige Kochka-Puskar (7 points).
Congrats to the Lady Hawks on the big win and good luck in PIAA playoffs! The Lady Hawks are scheduled to play Mt. Lebanon at Baldwin High School at 6:00 PM on Friday, March 8 in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.
Click here for a an article by the Post-Gazette and here for an article by the Tribune-Review on the Lady Hawks’ big win.
