PITTSBURGH — No. 1 Greensburg Central Catholic held off a comeback from No. 3 Serra Catholic to win the WPIAL basketball 2A Girls Championship, 62-41, at the Petersen Events Center Thursday night.
This is the first WPIAL Championship for the Centurions (20-6) since 2007 and their sixth all-time, winning three more titles in Class 2A in 2006, 2003, 1997 and a Class 3A title in 1991. This is also their third win this season against the Eagles (21-5) this season, defeating them 66-53 on the road on Jan. 4 and then 59-47 at home on Jan. 29.
Centurions head coach Chris Skatell had some trepidation with his team after they had five days from their semifinal victory over No. 12 South Side last Saturday. He had some worries with the long break, but once he saw his team take the floor, he knew they would finally achieve what they had wanted to all season long.
“I was worried, frankly, how we were going to respond to being off, because we haven’t been off like that all year, I don’t think, five days six days,” Skatell said. “But when I seen them take the floor and warm up, I was like ‘Okay, we’re going to be fine.’ Everybody’s energy was good, guys shot it pretty good. So getting through that period was hard and it feels unbelievable. I’m sure the more we think about it, the better it’s going to feel. A lot of fun.”
Serra Catholic jumped out to an 8-4 lead through the first five minutes of the game, with senior guard/forward Bri Battles making two layups. Greensburg Central Catholic responded on a 7-2 run to end the first quarter up 11-10, with sophomore shooting guard Jayla Peterson making a 3-pointer and two foul shots.
Both teams battled it out in the second quarter, keeping it close at just a four-point game. The Centurions outscored the Eagles 8-3 in the final 2:30, with first-year small forward Avery Jones hitting a 3-pointer and then sophomore point guard Erica Gribble making a layup and then a 3-pointer herself, giving themselves a 30-20 lead at halftime.
Greensburg Central Catholic began the second half on an 8-2 run, with Gribble leading the way making a 3-pointer and a foul shot, to expand their lead to 38-23 with 3:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Despite falling behind, Serra Catholic continued to work hard and went on an 11-4 run to close the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 42-33. Senior guard Cate Clarke converted an and-one opportunity off of a layup and then made two free throws to score five points during the run for Serra Catholic.
Gribble continued her great game for the Centurions with a layup and back-to-back 3-pointers to begin the fourth quarter, putting them up 50-37 with four minutes remaining. She scored six more points on a layup and four free throws to get to 28 points for the night on 9-for-18 shooting, 5-for-7 from 3-point range and 5-for-6 from the foul line.
The Centurions had a huge advantage from 3-point range in their victory, going 8-for-13 from deep, while the Eagles shot a poor 2-for-11 from behind the arc, which served a big role in the win.
Already at 1,000 points for her career, Gribble joins her sisters in Norwin alums Alayna and Olivia Gribble, in winning a WPIAL title. With 14 of her 28 points coming in the fourth quarter, she played a crucial role in pushing Greensburg Central Catholic onto victory for the title.
“Definitely,” Gribble said on if it was one of her best performances of the year. “I think we started off a little slow,” Gribble said on the win. “I think my teammates helped me out, passed me the ball and I just hit my shots. It was great.”
While losing a WPIAL title game is not the goal any team has in mind, Serra Catholic head coach Mike Voit loved his girls’ performance. In his first-year at the helm of the team, he has seen great improvements from his players and is excited to see where they go in the state playoffs.
“First time I met them, they said their goal was to get to ‘The Pete,’ goal accomplished,” Voit said. “I keep reminding them that when I played, I was not even remotely close to ‘The Pete.’ So they’re part of a 5% population that even get to this point and we tried to make it a special week for them and hopefully they’ll have those moments for a lifetime.”
Greensburg Central Catholic will face District 6 Fourth Place finalist Bellwood Antis in Bellwood in Blair County, north of Altoona in the First Round next Friday, March 8. Serra Catholic will take on District 6 Third Place finalist Bishop McCort from Johnstown on the same day also in the First Round.
