After posting a seven-point win on the road last month, the Shady Side Academy girls basketball team came into Monday looking to defend home court for a season sweep against Greensburg Central Catholic.
The Bulldogs were able to do just that, defeating the Centurions, 54-43, in a Section 2-3A matchup in Fox Chapel.
The game got off to a quick start as Erica Gribble buried a right-wing 3-pointer off the opening tip.
Leah Buford answered with a 3-pointer of her own to tie the score. That sparked an early 9-0 run for Shady Side, which did not trail the rest of the game.
“This is what you expect when you play a team like them. It’s a tough game,” Shady Side Academy coach Jonna Burke said. “It’s a real good rivalry that we’ve built with them.”
The Bulldogs, No. 1 in the Trib HSSN Class 3A rankings, built a five-point lead after the first quarter and led 30-17 at halftime.
Senior Karis Thomas, a Purdue Fort-Wayne recruit, scored eight of her game high 20 points in the second quarter.
With Gribble and Jayla Peterson held in check, Trib HSSN Class 3A No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic needed somebody to step up, and that somebody was Morgan Skoloda.
With GCC trailing by 17, the junior Skoloda hit three consecutive 3-pointers to pull the Centurions (14-5, 10-2) within 35-28 with less than two minutes left in the third quarter.
“They had some kids step up and hit some really big shots. (Skoloda) was killing us,” Burke said.
But Thomas calmly stepped back and hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired in the quarter to restore an 11-point lead.
“I thought that (basket) was really huge, because we were kind of stagnant on offense, that was a real lift that we needed,” Burke said.
Skoloda hit two more 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, finishing with a team-high 15 points. The second triple made it a five-point game with 2:40 remaining.
“(GCC is) such a good team. There was no doubt they were coming back in this game,” Burke said. “We were just lucky enough to withstand their run and had enough of a lead to hold them off.”
Senior forward Cassie Sauer, who missed last season’s championship game against the Centurions, also played well for Shady Side Academy, adding 15 points and nine rebounds.
Sauer is a true post presence for Burke and the Bulldogs.
“She really is, and I think she is kind of a rarity in high school basketball these days. She’s 6-2, and she just plays her position. She plays inside; she likes to bang around. She has a bloody lip, a scratch on her arm and a big bruise, but that’s a typical night in the office for her.”
The other difference in the contest was Shady Side Academy (16-2, 11-0) limiting Gribble (five) and Peterson (eight) to 13 combined points.
“Our game plan against them — and everyone else’s game plan against them — is to slow down Peterson and Gribble,” Burke said. “Gribble is one of the best players I have ever seen.”
Gribble, who is committed to Richmond, did not make a basket after the opening 3 until 3:55 was left in the fourth quarter. She contributed a couple of steals and five blocked shots.
“It’s no secret. It was a triangle-and-two (to defend Gribble and Peterson),” Burke said. “I’m sure (GCC sees) that a lot. We don’t really feel we can match very well with Gribble man-to-man. She’s taken it to us too many times when we’ve tried that.”
Shady Side Academy and Greensburg C.C. have clinched 3A playoff spots.
The Bulldogs have won seven straight games.
Burke talked about some keys down the stretch for her team heading into the postseason.
“Of course, the biggest key at this time of the season is to stay healthy, but that is also out of our control. We have to continue to try and get a little bit better every day. Between now and Monday, we have four more games (starting Wednesday with Ligonier Valley). That’s better for us than just practicing against each other.”
Last season, the Centurions dropped both regular-season contests to Shady Side Academy before defeating the Bulldogs 56-51 in the WPIAL championship game to capture back-to-back titles
Greensburg Central Catholic (14-5, 10-2) saw its six-game winning streak end. It will host Deer Lakes on Thursday.