A terrific season for Greensburg Central Catholic came to an all-too-familiar end on Monday night.
Facing District 10 champion Kennedy Catholic (24-4) in a PIAA Class 2A semifinal clash at North Allegheny High School for the second year in a row, the Centurions (23-7) once again found themselves outmatched and overpowered by the defending Class 2A state champions. Led by reigning PIAA Class 2A Player of the Year Layke Fields, Kennedy raced out to a double-digit lead in the first half and never gave Greensburg Central a chance to fight back, cruising back into the state finals with a 61-45 victory.
“We felt like we were a little closer to them than we were,” said Centurions coach Chris Skatell. “We let some things get away from us, and then we couldn’t get the genie back in the bottle.”
As dominant as any player in the state regardless of classification, Fields was her usual unstoppable self on Monday, racking up a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead a trio of double-digit scorers for Kennedy. Monique Vincent added 17 points while connecting on five 3-pointers, and Tori Harvey tacked on 11 points in the win.
“Good teams have a way of getting their kids in positions,” Skatell said. “But when you have to give so much attention to Layke, those things happen. … She puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the team.”
Senior guard Mya Morgan led the way for Greensburg Central with 14 points in her final high school game, followed by 12 from junior guard Jayla Peterson and 11 from sophomore standout Erica Gribble, who was held well below her average of 20.5 points per game.
The Centurions are known for their excellent guard play, but they simply had no answer in the paint for Fields, a 6-foot forward who averages 20.1 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Fields tallied 16 of her 26 points in the first half, helping Kennedy build a comfortable 15-point advantage going into the break.
“Layke is going to get her points. You’re not shutting her out,” Skatell said. “If you have somebody who can match up with her a little bit better size-wise, you don’t have to use so many other people on the team to help [on defense].”
Things would only get worse from there for Greensburg Central, as Kennedy stretched its lead to 24 points midway through the third quarter before taking a 51-29 advantage into the fourth. That’s when the Centurions finally began to mount a comeback, but it was far too little, too late, as they once again fell one win short of a trip to the state finals.
All things considered, reaching the Western Region final in back-to-back seasons is still something to be proud of — and this time, Greensburg Central has a WPIAL championship trophy to show for it, too.
“We played 30 out of 31 [possible] games,” Skatell said. “Did we all want to go down to Hershey? Yeah, 100%. It’s always going to be tough to say goodbye to seniors who gave so much to the program.
“Losing is never fun. But that’s why basketball is so much fun. It was a great environment. The gym was packed. It was a difficult opponent. All those kids want to play at the next level, so that’s just a taste of how that’s going to be.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
