Friday PIAA girls basketball rundown: Greensburg Central Catholic uses second-half surge against Everett to secure spot in Class 2A semifinals

Coming off a WPIAL championship victory against archrival Serra Catholic at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center, Greensburg Central Catholic coach Chris Skatell said his team wasn’t playing up to its usual standard for the start of the state playoffs.

Despite posting wins over Bellwood Antis and West Middlesex to reach the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals, Skatell believed the Centurions were struggling to find their footing after coming off such an emotional high — and it appeared that so-called championship hangover was carrying over into a quarterfinal clash Friday night against District 5 champion Everett (20-8) at Forest Hills.

With Greensburg Central (23-6) leading by only three points after struggling mightily on the offensive end going into halftime, it looked as if the Centurions finally might be running out of gas. But the “Big Three” of Erica Gribble, Mya Morgan and Avery Davis had other plans, combining to score 48 of Greensburg Central’s points in an eventual 56-26 blowout win.

“My kids really haven’t had their legs underneath them since we were at The Pete,” Skatell said. “We played Bellwood Antis, and we were sluggish. We won that game, but we were sluggish. We played West Middlesex, same thing. We were sluggish. First half tonight, same thing. Then in the second half, something happened, and we finally found our legs.”

Greensburg Central Catholic’s players celebrate a 62-41 win against Serra Catholic in the WPIAL Class 2A championship recently at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center in Oakland. (Alexandra Wimley/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

One of the top sophomores in the area who already has more than 1,000 career points, Gribble scored a game-high 20 points for the Centurions, followed by 15 from Morgan and 13 from Davis. Abby Dlugos (13 rebounds) and Jayla Peterson (9 rebounds) cleaned up on the glass, allowing the team’s trio of talented scorers to shine in the second half.

“I think the first offensive possession [of the second half], we came right down and missed a jump shot, and it was like, ‘Geez, oh man, it’s going to continue,'” Skatell said. “Then we go back down the floor, and Gribble gets a steal and a score, and then it was on from there.”

Moving forward, Greensburg Central is well aware of the daunting challenge looming in the state semifinals. With a berth in the PIAA Class 2A championship on the line, the Centurions will try to take out defending state champion Kennedy Catholic (23-4), which advanced with a 60-35 win over District 6 third-place finisher Bishop McCort. One of the top teams in the state regardless of class, Kennedy is led by junior guard Layke Fields, the reigning Class 2A player of the year.

The game will be a rematch of a 2023 PIAA semifinal, won by Kennedy, 56-44.

“We felt like last year we got close, and they were really good, and we just couldn’t get over that hump,” Skatell said. “We kind of left that matchup thinking we could play with them. We’re a year older, we’re a year stronger. And so are they. … I think they’re pretty proud of what they’ve done, and I think they’re excited about the opportunity.”

Shady Side Academy’s Maggie Spell scored a team-high 19 points in a 47-41 loss to Westmont Hilltop in the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals Friday at Norwin High School. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Class 6A

• Facing District 1 runner-up Spring-Ford for the second time this season, WPIAL champion Norwin saw its season come to an end at State College in a 60-47 defeat. Spring-Ford (24-5) received a team-high 19 points from Katie Tiffan, one of four double-digit scorers in the win. Junior guard Kendall Berger led all scorers with 20 points for the Knights (23-4).

Class 3A

• Maggie Spell scored a team-high 19 points for WPIAL champion Shady Side Academy, but the Bulldogs had their 20-game winning streak snapped in a 47-41 loss to District 6 runner-up Westmont Hilltop (22-4) at Norwin. Christiana Gordon tallied a game-high 21 points for Westmont Hilltop. Karis Thomas added 14 points for Shady Side (26-3).

• Senior forward Rebecca Goetz tallied a team-leading 20 points and junior guard Greta O’Brien added 15 for Avonworth (24-3), but it wasn’t enough to overcome a dreadful first quarter in a 54-41 defeat to District 10 champion Mercyhust Prep at Slippery Rock University. Mercyhurst outscored the Antelopes, 23-2, in the first quarter, and Avonworth was unable to chip away at the deficit. Olivia Kulyk led all scorers with 24 points for Mercyhurst (24-3).