When leading scorer London Creach went down with a season-ending injury in a WPIAL quarterfinal win against North Hills on Feb. 23, Oakland Catholic’s hopes of an undefeated season went down with her.
Following back-to-back defeats in the WPIAL semifinals and third-place game after going 24-0 with Creach in the lineup, the Eagles could have easily thrown in the towel and gave up on the season. Instead, coach Eddie Benton reassembled the troops and refocused their attention toward the state playoffs, finally being allotted ample practice time without Creach to make the necessary adjustments moving forward.
“London is our best defender,” Benton said. “We put her on the other team’s best player every night, and she’s our leading scorer. Think about a team losing that. It changes everything.”
Still, it was up to the rest of the players on the court to make up for Creach’s absence on both ends of the floor — and they rose to the occasion Wednesday night at Peters Township, dominating three-time defending WPIAL champion South Fayette en route to a commanding 48-28 victory in the second round of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs. The win avenges a pair of losses to the Lions (19-9) in last year’s WPIAL championship game and PIAA semifinals.
“We went zone this time,” Benton said. “We never play zone. I’m not a zone guy at all. But I knew they had so many weapons, I knew they were long. I said, ‘You know what? We’re going to pack the paint and make them make shots.’ And it worked.
“To come back and beat that team, that’s a great feeling.”
Sophomore forward Josie Fontana led the way with 14 points for Oakland Catholic (26-2), while junior guard Alayla Bivins continued to fill in admirably for Creach in her new starting role. Bivins tallied 13 points in the win, and freshman guard Kaylee DeAngelo added 12 on four 3-pointers.
“The last couple games, [Bivins] has stepped up and played very well,” Benton said. “She was phenomenal tonight. She’s doing what she needs to do at this point.”
Now, the Eagles are faced with the unenviable task of trying to take down District 10 powerhouse Cathedral Prep (21-3) for a berth in the PIAA semifinals. Without Creach, some might point to Oakland Catholic as a major underdog in that matchup, but the Eagles still possess plenty of talent and great team chemistry, and you need both to make it to Hershey.
Now only two wins away from securing a spot in the state finals, expect Oakland Catholic to feed on its newfound momentum while rallying behind its fallen star — and don’t be surprised if you see the Eagles back in the state semifinals for the second year in a row.
“We’ll watch the film [on Cathedral Prep] and then come up with another game plan,” Benton said. “Every game is different.”
Other Class 5A
• Following up her memorable 36-point effort in a WPIAL championship loss to South Fayette, Armstrong senior Emma Paul dropped a game-high 30 points for the River Hawks (23-5) in a 54-39 win against District 6 champion Hollidaysburg (23-4) at Pitt-Johnstown. One of the most dynamic athletes in the area, the multi-talented 5-foot-5 point guard will soon begin her final softball season for one of the WPIAL championship front-runners in Class 5A — but first comes a trip to the PIAA basketball quarterfinals.
• Awaiting Armstrong in the quarterfinal round will be McKeesport, which rallied from an early deficit to defeat Indiana, 48-27, at Gateway. Maddy Miller led all scorers with 13 points and Rachael Manfredo added 12 for the Tigers (23-4, while Bella Antonacci finished with a team-high 10 points for the Little Indians (20-7).
Class 4A
• Harvard recruit Alayna Rocco delivered a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds for WPIAL champion North Catholic, leading a trio of double-digit scorers for the Trojanettes in a 59-32 triumph over District 10 runner-up Warren (21-6) at PennWest Edinboro. Lauren Mihm added 16 points and Lauren Reitz tacked on 12 in the win for North Catholic (19-7).
• Behind a balanced scoring attack that saw four players reach double figures, Blackhawk drubbed District 9 champion St. Mary’s (22-6) at Keystone, 63-33. Senior guard Alena Fusetti finished with a game-high 17 points for the Cougars (24-3), followed by 15 from Aubree Hupp, 11 from Ava Pagani and 10 from Andrea Kinger.
Class 1A
• Senior forward Kelly Cleaver led the way for defending PIAA champion Union with 17 points in a 52-42 win against District 5 runner-up Northern Bedford (17-10) at Hempfield. Junior guard Kylie Fruehstorfer followed closely behind with 16 points for the Scotties (21-5), while Mariah Hall led all scorers with 21 points for Northern Bedford.
• Julie Spinelli led St. Joseph (22-5) with 19 points to go with 10 from Anna Kreinbrook, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 33-point outburst by Coral Prosser for District 5 champion Berlin Brothersvalley (23-5) in a season-ending 61-50 defeat at Hempfield.
Scores
Class 5A
Armstrong 54, Hollidaysburg 39
McKeesport 48, Indiana 27
Oakland Catholic 48, South Fayette 28
Class 4A
Blackhawk 63, St. Mary’s 33
Fairview 45, Laurel Highlands 36
North Catholic 59, Warren 32
Class 1A
Berlin Brothersvalley 61, St. Joseph 50
Union 52, Northern Bedford 42
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mistakenly listed Alayla Bivins as the leading scorer for Oakland Catholic against South Fayette.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
