Knowing what was at stake in Wednesday night’s City League girls semifinal showdown against Brashear (11-11), Allderdice knew there was no time to wait and let the Bulls hang around.
Sensing the urgency of the moment, the Dragons used their full-court press to generate a slew of early turnovers, mounting a big first-quarter lead and never looking back on their way to a 58-28 home win. Bailey White led the way with a game-high 24 points, and Peyton Lynch and Noriaya Warren finished with 10 points apiece to help Allderdice (13-9) secure a third consecutive trip to the City League title game.
“Practice has been pretty meaningful, coming out early and establishing ourselves,” said Dragons coach Ellen Guillard. “We pressed full-court and were able to get a couple of easy steals. … That’s the sense of urgency [we need].”
Allderdice’s previous two trips to the finals haven’t gone so well, with a mercy-rule defeat against Obama Academy in last year’s title game still looming over the Dragons’ heads as a painful reminder of how far they’ve come. Allderdice will have a chance to avenge those back-to-back losses at noon Sunday at Duquesne’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, when the Dragons clash with the Eagles for the third time this season in a must-see rubber match.
“Hopefully we come out a little bit more confident,” Guillard said. “We’re just hoping to get comfortable. Hopefully Bailey gets a couple steals to get us going, and then we can ease our jitters. But it’s going to come down to an unknown hero.
“It definitely won’t be a 50-point deficit.”
Other girls semifinal
As back-to-back City League girls champion, Obama has gotten used to dominating the city in recent years without facing much resistance.
Things were a bit different on Wednesday night, as the Eagles (12-8) received a scare from visiting Westinghouse (10-10) in their City League semifinal matchup. But in the end, Obama’s championship pedigree proved to be the difference as the Eagles rallied for a 52-41 victory to earn the right to defend their title against Allderdice on Sunday. Taylor Phillips and Ahmaya Rogers led the way with 15 points apiece for Obama, and Gi’Onna Simmons chipped in 10 to round out a trio of double-digit scorers in the win.
“Westinghouse came out on a good run in the first period,” Obama coach Monique McCoy said. “They did a box-and-one on Taylor Phillips, and that brought a different dynamic to the game and to our offense. We finally settled in. I think it threw us off a bit, but we settled in after a certain point in the late first quarter, and going into the second half, we adjusted and were able to get other individuals into the game, like Ahmaya Rogers and Ra’Leja Woods.
“It’s going to be an intense [championship] game. Dice has a good team. Of course, I feel like we have a good team. It’s going to be even. Both teams are going to have to work.”
Boys semifinals
With standout senior Torrien Perkins fueling the offense and Tyvon Morse at the forefront of an aggressive, stifling defense, Obama had little trouble dispatching Brashear at home, 75-41. The win sends the Eagles (10-11) back to the City League finals for the third year in a row and the seventh time in the past 10 seasons.
“We jumped out kind of early. We got the ball moving,” said Obama coach Naron Jackson. “Our point guard, Naron, was kind of spreading it out evenly. We got into a rhythm and a lot of guys got some confidence and saw some shots fall. After that, we started hitting some 3s and getting some easy steals, and it was like a domino effect.”
A talented 6-3 guard averaging 18.1 ppg, Perkins poured in a game-high 26 points for the Eagles, who saw four players reach double figures on the evening. Morse and Keivan Harris finished with 14 points apiece, and Naron Jackson II tacked on 11. Morse also racked up nine steals in an impressive two-way performance.
Titus Gillett scored a team-leading 17 points for the Bulls (9-11), followed by 14 from Garrett White.
“I think this was the hardest we’ve played another city team this year, just knowing what was at stake and where we wanted to get to,” Jackson said.
As for Allderdice, the Dragons reached the City League finals for the third year in a row with a 77-46 home win against Carrick. Logan Golle and Ma’ayan Kohai tallied 15 points to pace Allderdice (19-4), while Keiylan Walden finished with 10 in the lopsided victory. Ray Saunders led all scorers with 16 points for the Raiders (9-14), and Brayden Fisher contributed 12 in the defeat.
The Dragons stormed out to a 49-19 advantage at halftime, aided by a 29-point outburst in the second quarter. From there, Allderdice cruised to an easy win to set up another anticipated showdown with archrival Obama on Sunday at 2 p.m at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
