Peters Township coach Steve Limberiou praised his team’s toughness following Wednesday’s game against Thomas Jefferson.
The WPIAL champion Indians, who were trying to improve to 4-0 against Thomas Jefferson this season, found themselves in a tough spot, trailing by 7 points after three quarters.
But, as they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. And Peters Township’s toughness, both offensively and defensively, late in the game has the Indians going to the PIAA quarterfinals for the first time since finishing as unbeaten state champs in 2019.
Natalie Wetzel delivered a game-high 27 points and Peters Township was fantastic down the stretch on its way to grabbing a 57-53 against Thomas Jefferson in a PIAA Class 5A second-round game at Canon-McMillan.
“I thought TJ played really well tonight,” Limberiou said. “They hit a lot of really tough shots. But that’s been a hallmark of this group all year, they’re really tough. Seemingly, when it gets tough is when we play our best. That to me is a sign that you have really tough kids, and we do, no question about it.”
The question Wednesday was would Peters Township (25-3) beat Thomas Jefferson (22-6) for a fourth time, a tall task considering the Jaguars are really talented and lost to the Indians by just 3 points in the WPIAL semifinals. Behind the super backcourt duo of Kaylee DeAngelo and Maggie Spell, Thomas Jefferson scored the final 4 points of the third quarter to take a 46-39 lead into the fourth.
“It was their run at the end of the third quarter,” Wetzel said. “So at the start of the fourth when we were down 7, it was our turn, and we always know in the back of our minds that the season is on the line. There’s no bigger motivator than that. So I think we all just found a way.”
Peters Township used an 11-4 run to begin the fourth quarter to pull even at 50 following Bri Morreale’s 3-pointer with 3:26 left. Thomas Jefferson’s Riley McCabe quickly answered with a 3 of her own to put the Jaguars back ahead, 53-50, with 3:07 remaining, but that turned out to be the Jaguars’ final points of the game.
Wetzel’s bucket with 2:45 left cut the Peters Township deficit to 53-52. Then, after blocking Spell’s shot on the defensive end, Wetzel was fouled and hit 2 free throws to give the Indians a 54-53 lead with 1:45 to go. Following a Thomas Jefferson turnover, Wetzel was fouled again and this time went 1 of 2 at the charity stripe, extending the Peters Township lead to 55-53 with 35 seconds left. Freshman Jordyn Welsh then came up with a big defensive play for the Indians, getting a hand on DeAngelo’s driving layup attempt. Danielle Radulovich grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Morreale, who made two free throws with 10 seconds left to put the game away.
“We just locked in defensively,” Wetzel said. “We’ve been able to do this in tight game situations. We just had to do the same thing again, and all really lock in and really focus on defense and just get stops.”
Morreale scored 13 points and Radulovich tacked on 9 for Peters Township, which has won 12 of its last 13 games and will take on District 10 power Cathedral Prep (18-7) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
DeAngelo led Thomas Jefferson with 17 points and Spell chipped in 15. They each hit three of the team’s eight 3-pointers. Riley McCabe added 8 points for the Jaguars, who should be strong again next season considering they don’t have a senior on the roster.
But it’s Peters Township, led by a future ACC player in Miami recruit Wetzel, who is now three wins away from winning a state title just like Makenna Marisa drove the Indians to six years ago.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to do what she did here,” Wetzel said. “We have three games left, and hopefully we can find a way.”
Other Class 5A
• WPIAL runner-up South Fayette (26-2) raced to a 23-point first-quarter lead and coasted to a 70-41 win against District 3 third-place finisher West York (21-8) at Altoona. Juliette Leroux scored 20 points for South Fayette, which led, 32-9, after one quarter and held a 57-20 halftime lead. Ryan Oldaker added 12 points, Haylie Lamonde 11 and Ella Vierra 10 for the Lions, who have won 18 of their last 19 games. Maya Shah paced West York with 13 points. South Fayette will meet District 6 champion Hollidaysburg (25-3) in the quarterfinals.
Class 4A
• London Creach scored 17 points and Josie Fontana had 16 to push WPIAL champion Oakland Catholic (25-3) into the quarterfinals for the third year in a row courtesy of a 75-48 win against WPIAL fourth-place finisher Elizabeth Forward (20-8) at Norwin. Zephaniah Troxler-Scott chipped in 13 points for the Eagles, who led, 35-21, at the half before going on to win their 13th straight game. Michelle Jellison scored 14 points for Elizabeth Forward, which was trying to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2014. Oakland Catholic advanced to play District 12 third-place finisher Lansdale Catholic (24-4).
• Aubree Hupp scored 18 points and pulled down 22 rebounds to help defending champion Blackhawk (25-3) roll into the quarterfinals via a 58-32 win over District 9 champion Clearfield (19-6) at Clarion University. Blackhawk led, 25-15, at the half before outscoring Clearfield, 33-17, in the second half. Mia Sheesley scored 22 points for Blackhawk, the WPIAL runner up which will play in the quarterfinals for the fourth year in a row. The Cougars will meet North Catholic next.
• Sarah Loughry’s triple-double of 12 points, 10 assists and 10 steals propelled WPIAL third-place finisher North Catholic (24-4) into the quarterfinals for the fourth year in a row following a 57-33 win against District 10 champion Harbor Creek (22-5) at Oil City. North Catholic led by 8 points at the half and by 9 points after three quarters before outscoring Oil City, 16-1, in the fourth. Brady Wehner finished with a game-high 18 points for the Trojanettes, who have won 9 of 10. Brooke Przybylski scored 10 points to lead Harbor Creek.
Class 1A
• Aquinas Academy (17-9), the WPIAL’s third-place finisher, fell into an early 17-point hole and could never dig out of it on its way to a 60-27 loss to defending champion Bishop Guilfoyle (27-2) at Armstrong. Bishop Guilfoyle, the District 6 winner, jumped to a 19-2 first-quarter lead and held a 34-10 edge at the half. Elliot Keverline scored 17 points for Aquinas Academy, while Anberlyn Petrecca led Bishop Guilfoyle with 13. Aquinas Academy, which won its second-ever PIAA game in the first round, was looking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.
Scoreboard
PIAA Class 5A second round
Peters Township 57, Thomas Jefferson 53
South Fayette 70, West York 41
PIAA Class 4A second round
Blackhawk 58, Clearfield 32
North Catholic 57, Harbor Creek 33
Oakland Catholic 75, Elizabeth Forward 48
PIAA Class 1A second round
Bishop Guilfoyle 60, Aquinas Academy 27
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.