They say it’s hard to beat a good team three times in one season, but Greensburg Central Catholic made it look easy on Thursday night.
Facing section-rival Serra Catholic in the WPIAL Class 2A championship game at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center, the Centurions soared past the Eagles (21-5) for a convincing 62-41 victory, hoisting their first WPIAL championship since 2007 and their sixth in program history. Greensburg Central (20-6) has accounted for three of Serra’s five losses this season, with all three of their wins coming by double digits.
“There was a lot of familiarity with their offense,” said Centurions coach Chris Skatell. “I have basketball kids. They have high IQs, and they really work their tails off. … We put some new sets in and tried some different stuff, but I’ve learned coaching, you have your most success running stuff the kids are most familiar with.”
Sophomore standout Erica Gribble was every bit as good as advertised, pouring in 14 of her game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter to help Greensburg Central polish off the championship triumph. Gribble, a 5-10 guard who averages 20.5 points per game and already has more than 1,000 points for her career, tallied 21 points in the second half while draining 5-of-7 attempts from 3-point range. As a team, the Centurions knocked down 8-of-13 attempts (61.5%) from beyond the arc.
“Watching my sister [Alayna] play twice here — growing up, I’ve always wanted to play here and win a WPIAL championship,” Gribble said. “It’s awesome.”
Along with Gribble, Greensburg Central features another 1,000-point scorer in senior guard Mya Morgan, who finished with nine points, six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Senior guard Avery Davis is another capable scorer who finished with 15 points on the evening, and sophomore forward Abby Dlugos cleaned up on the glass with a game-high 14 rebounds.
“Abby is unbelievable,” Skatell said. “If I could have shown you Abby at the beginning of the year and where she is right now, it’s crazy. We talked a lot about how she has a job to do, and it’s to hit the boards. If we’re going to win these games, you’ve got to hit the boards.”
For the Eagles, Cate Clarke converted some tough buckets on her way to a team-high 13 points, while senior forward Bri Battles finished with 11 points to go with five rebounds and three steals.
“Even though we lost, only two teams make it to this place every year,” Battles said. “Even though it’s not the outcome we wanted, it was a surreal experience to play on that court.”
The teams traded buckets throughout a back-and-forth first quarter, with Greensburg Central taking an 11-10 lead into the second. The Centurions put together a 9-0 run to extend their lead before back-to-back 3-pointers by Niki Sfanos stopped the bleeding.
Mya Morgan responded with her own 3-pointer from the top of the key for Greensburg Central, then Davis added another triple to make it 25-18 late in the second quarter. One more 3-pointer by Gribble stretched the Centurions’ lead to 30-21 going into the break.
“I’ve dreamt of this since sophomore year. Freshman year was something else,” Morgan said with a laugh. “It’s something that I’ll never get to experience again, so it was really important for me and all of my teammates to accomplish this.”
Coming out of the break, Gribble, Davis and Morgan took turns adding to Greensburg Central’s lead, which swelled to 15 midway through the third quarter. Clarke then cut the deficit to 10 with an improbable three-point play, keeping Serra within striking distance going into the fourth.
A driving layup by Clarke made it 44-37 early in the final quarter, with the Eagles threatening to make a serious fourth-quarter rally. Gribble then put Serra’s comeback hopes to rest with a pair of 3-pointers, sparking an 18-2 run for the Centurions to close out the game.
Greensburg Central will move on to face Bellwood-Antis in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs, while the Eagles will meet Bishop McCort.
“If we are healthy, I think we can [make a deep run],” Skatell said. “That’s the plan. Take a little rest, make sure we’re all healthy, and then we’ll do the best we can.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
