Girls basketball out of PIAAs after close contest

Russell Finelsen, Staff Writer, Assistant Editor, Sports Editor|March 11, 2015

The BP girls varsity basketball team is out of the state championships after losing in their second-round game. Even though the girls got off to a good start, they ultimately lost to Norwin, 54-46, at Plum High School.

Norwin was led by Alayna Gribble, who had 23 points. Delaney Arbore added ten points, and Dominque Petach had 12 points. BP’s Justina Mascaro led the team with 18 points.

BP led for a short period in the first quarter by six points. However, Norwin came back by halftime to take a one-point lead when the teams went into the locker rooms. The score at this point was 23-22.

After Amanda Beatty got a quick layup following a steal, the score was 33-22. This was the last points of a 10-0 run for Norwin. After Petach sunk two of her twelve on a layup, Norwin increased their lead to 37-26. After this eleven-point lead, Norwin had another eleven-point advantage a few minutes later before BP tried to come back.

BP was able to get within two points as they made the score 42-40. This was after Mascaro sunk in two free throws midway through the fourth quarter. However, this was the closest BP got, as after a Gribble basket, the Norwin lead was 48-42. Norwin finished the game on a 6-4 run to seal the win.

Norwin, even with coming in second place in Class AAAA Section 2, was the Class AAAA WPIAL champion. Meanwhile, BP won the Class AAAA Section 4 winners. However, BP lost in the semifinals of the WPIALs to Penn Hills at Baldwin High School.

BP’s first-round match was at Hollidaysburg Area High School against Altoona. BP won, 66-55. Norwin also won their first-round match by a single point versus Pine-Richland, 52-51. That game was played at Hempfield High School.

Norwin continues on to the quarterfinals, where they will face North Allegheny. The game will be played on March 13, but site and time are yet to be determined. Norwin beat North Allegheny, 60-52, in the WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals. Norwin also beat North Allegheny in December 2014, 50-48. Other than these two losses, North Allegheny only had one other loss.