A year after winning a WPIAL title in Class 2A, Greensburg Central Catholic is a win away from doing the same in Class 3A.
Erica Gribble scored a game-high 16 points and No. 2 Greensburg C.C. sparkled defensively on its way to a 41-18 win against No. 3 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in a WPIAL Class 3A semifinal Saturday at Peters Township.
Greensburg C.C. (20-5), which moved up a class this season, will shoot for its seventh title overall when it takes on No. 1 and defending champion Shady Side Academy (24-0) in Thursday’s final at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. Shady Side Academy beat Greensburg C.C. twice in the regular season by 29 and 9 points. OLSH (21-4) was looking to reach its first final since 2022.
Offensively, Greensburg C.C. wasn’t very sharp Saturday. The Centurions, who have won 13 of 15, shot just 33% from the field (17 of 51) and finished with their fourth-lowest point total of the season. But if the saying “defense wins championships” holds much weight, the Centurions have to like where they are at defensively heading into the championship game.
“We only gave up two field goals in the last three quarters, so I’ll take that,” said Greensburg C.C. coach Chris Skatell, whose team also beat OLSH, 40-30, at a neutral site on Dec. 30.
OLSH, which came into the game having won 12 of 13, was abysmal offensively. The Chargers shot just 13% from the field (5 of 38), were held to six or fewer points in each quarter, and at one point went more than 20 minutes without a field goal. Following Sara Daeschner’s basket two minutes into the second quarter, OLSH didn’t convert another field goal until Claudia Ierullo’s 3-point play with 1:19 remaining in the game. In between, Greensburg Central Catholic outscored the Chargers, 30-7.
Gribble, Avery Jones (14 points) and Jayla Peterson (10 points) combined to score all but one of Greensburg C.C.’s points. A Richmond recruit and one of the WPIAL’s top players, Gribble averages 22 points per game, but was held to 6 points below her average as she was the focus of the defensive game plan of OLSH coach Don Eckerle, who has more than 400 career wins.
“I thought we handled the junk. And he junked a lot,” Skatell said of Eckerle. “Halfcourt junk. Halfcourt 1-2-2. Halfcourt 2-2-1. Triangle and two. So we kind of just played through it all. And we stayed patient, which is a sign of growth for us.”
Ierullo scored a team-best 7 points for OLSH, which went 8 of 12 from the free-throw line.
Other Class 3A semifinal
• In one of the best individual performances in WPIAL playoff history, Karis Thomas knocked down nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 46 points to help No. 1 and defending champion Shady Side Academy (24-0) remain unbeaten following a 69-33 win against No. 12 Ellwood City (15-9) at North Allegheny. Thomas, a junior guard averaging 18 points per game, scored 11 points in the first quarter, 15 in the second, 14 in the third and 6 in the fourth. Leah Buford (10 points) was the only other player to score in double figures for Shady Side, which played without second-leading scorer Cassie Sauer (injured). The Bulldogs led, 20-5, after one quarter and held a 37-13 lead at the half. Caitlyn Kreitzer and Kayla Jones scored 10 points apiece for Ellwood City, which upset No. 5 Seton LaSalle and No. 4 Keystone Oaks in the first two rounds to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1995. The Wolverines had won 7 of 8.
Class 5A semifinals
• No. 1 and three-time defending champion South Fayette (24-1) raced to a big early lead before coasting to a 67-32 win against No. 13 Mars (15-10) at Mt. Lebanon. South Fayette led, 21-2, after one quarter and took a 36-7 lead to the half. Lailah Wright scored 15 of her game-high 17 points in the first half for South Fayette, which claimed its 16th consecutive win. Ryan Oldaker added 14 points and Juju Leroux chipped in 10. The Lions defeated Mars in regular-season section play by 45 and 36 points. Alexis Cashdollar scored 9 points for Mars, which stunned No. 4 Shaler in the first round. The Planets had won 5 of 6 and were playing in the semifinals for the first time since 2016.
• Natalie Wetzel scored 15 points and No. 2 Peters Township (22-3) advanced to its first final since 2019 by holding off section rival and No. 6 Thomas Jefferson (20-5) for the third time this season, 46-43, at Mt. Lebanon. A Miami recruit, Wetzel’s 3-pointer with just over a minute left snapped a 41-41 tie and Peters Township held on to win for the ninth time in its last 10 games. Freshman Taylor McCullough connected on three 3-pointers and scored all 12 of her points in the second half for the Indians, who also got 13 points from Daniela Radulovich. Thomas Jefferson held a 24-22 lead at the half before Peters Township surged ahead, 34-33, after three quarters. Maggie Spell, who led Shady Side Academy to the WPIAL Class 3A title last season, led Thomas Jefferson with 12 points, but only 3 of those came in the second half. Peters Township defeated Thomas Jefferson by scores of 52-39 and 58-49 in the regular season.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.