It might not taste quite as sweet as victory No. 300, but for Our Lady of the Sacred Heart coach Don Eckerle, becoming the WPIAL’s newest member of the 400-win club on Sunday was still a cause for a bit of a celebration.
Win No. 300 for Eckerle came at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center in 2019, when the Chargers captured their first and only WPIAL championship while making their third of four trips to the title game during his 22-year tenure. And while the feeling of euphoria in that moment will be tough for Eckerle to top, he admitted win No. 400 will still hold a special place in his heart, too — not just because of the milestone, but because of the way his team dug deep to pull out a hard-fought 54-44 victory against defending City League champion Allderdice.
And of course, to do it all with the same team he started with back in 2003 just adds a little cherry on top.
“I think a lot of people were caught off guard, to be truthful,” Eckerle said. “I had forgotten about it. My wife, Joan, is our scorekeeper, and she knew. The game was over, and they announced it. Not that I was totally caught off guard, but it was surprising.
“Honestly, it feels really good. … They were on a roll and they are the favorite to win the city. That was a really good win for us.”
In more than two decades at the helm under Eckerle, OLSH has transformed from a team that went 2-20 in the year prior to his arrival into one of the WPIAL’s true models of consistency. The Chargers appeared to be headed for a down year last season after graduating all five starters in 2023, but they still found a way to win 17 games and advance to the WPIAL quarterfinals for the 11th year in a row.
OLSH still has a relatively young and inexperienced group this season, but with all-section senior guard Claudia Ierullo leading the way, the Chargers (8-1, 3-0) stormed out to eight consecutive wins before running into a buzzsaw against defending WPIAL champion Greensburg Central Catholic in a 40-30 defeat on Monday night. But while some coaches would have shied away from facing off with a potential playoff opponent during the regular season — let alone the team viewed by many as the Class 3A championship front-runner — Eckerle didn’t get to 400 wins by turning down tough challenges.
“Our schedule is kind of set up that way, to challenge us,” Eckerle said. “That’s why we really liked our performance [against Allderdice]. We were down in the third quarter for the first time all year, then had to figure out a way to battle back.”
After averaging 14 points per game as a junior, Ierullo has turned it up a notch with a team-high 16 ppg through the first nine games in 2024. The 5-5 point guard also serves as OLSH’s primary ball-handler and facilitator, and she has done a terrific job setting up teammates with open looks whenever the defense devotes extra attention to stopping her.
“She is the wheels that drive this year’s team, that’s for sure,” Eckerle said. “She makes everything go. Typically, we let the point guard be a distributor in our program. But with Claudia, we’re allowing her to do it all. She is handling the ball, she is piling up some assists, but she is definitely our [top] scorer.”
As for the rest of the Chargers’ supporting cast, OLSH features a strong junior class that includes 5-7 guard-forward Sara Daeschner, 5-8 forward Lola Garner and 5-6 guard-forward Leah Parker, who scored a team-high 16 points in the win over the Dragons on Sunday. Through the first nine games, Parker and Garner are each averaging 9 ppg to go with 8 ppg from Daeschner.
“Last year was a team with no returning starters,” Eckerle said. “That team really developed and came on very strong at the end. This year’s team, again, it’s not like we have that many starters back. But we have a lot of players who were role players last year.
“The interesting thing is, in my 22 years, I have not had one player sign as a D-I player. We have had a lot of very good players. We have had a handful of D-II players who went on to be very successful. But we’ve done it so far without having a D-I player.”
Already holding a handful of quality wins while sitting all alone on top of Class 3A Section 1 heading into the new year, Eckerle has a lot to like about what he has seen from the Chargers so far — but he also knows there is still plenty of room for improvement. And if there is one thing fans have learned over Eckerle’s past two decades at OLSH, it’s that the Chargers tend to play their best basketball once the calendar flips to February and March.
“I tell people all the time, it’s very hard to win,” Eckerle said. “It doesn’t seem like that sometimes, but to consistently win year after year is really a challenge. You’re dealing with different groups of players. Kids are graduating, other kids are coming in.
“It’s so important for the development of the program, to be able to play in March. We have other points of discussion, but our goal is to be playing in March.”
New-look Neshannock returning to old winning ways
It has been a couple years since Neshannock reigned over Class 2A with a string of three WPIAL titles in four seasons from 2019-22 — but after a two-year stint in Class 3A, the Lancers have returned to reclaim the throne they never relinquished.
Guided by legendary coach Luann Grybowski — winner of 760 games during her 45-year career — Neshannock (9-1, 1-0) might not have any of the same players around from its previous championship run, but astute observers will still spot a few familiar names and faces. Junior Jaidon Nogay is the younger sister of former multi-sport stars Neleh and Aaralyn Nogay, while junior Payton Newman is the younger sister of former two-sport standout Hunter Newman — and both have played key roles during the Lancers’ hot start, especially during their current five-game winning streak.
In a 69-39 win against Maplewood on Dec. 27, Newman dropped a game-high 24 points while Nogay tacked on 14. Then, in a 74-19 rout against Hickory the following day, Nogay scored 14 points with six steals while Newman tallied 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight steals. In Neshannock’s most recent win on Monday, Ainsley Allison posted a double-double of her own with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Newman added 15 points and Nogay scored 10 in a 65-34 win over Beaver Falls.
South Fayette gets back on track after first defeat
Following a flawless 7-0 start that included a handful of lopsided wins against quality foes like Greensburg Central Catholic, Mars, Mt. Lebanon and West Allegheny, three-time defending WPIAL Class 5A champion South Fayette traveled south and put its unbeaten record on the line for a tough three-game slate at the Tampa Bay Invitational.
Playing without standout junior Juju Leroux, who is out with a high-ankle sprain, the Lions started their trip with a 64-45 win against Charlotte, Fla., on Dec. 27. South Fayette then ran into a buzzsaw the next day against St. Mary’s, N.Y., taking its first loss of the season in blowout fashion, 65-27.
After a day of rest to refresh and recharge, the Lions (9-1, 3-0) returned to their winning ways on Monday, closing out their road trip with a nail-biting 54-53 triumph against Folsom, Calif. Haylie Lamonde led the team with 18 points in Monday’s win, while Ryan Oldaker chipped in with 16.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
