The third time wasn’t the charm for the Belle Vernon girls basketball team Thursday.
After winning both section matchups against Elizabeth Forward, the third meeting between the rivals went to the Warriors.
No. 5 Elizabeth Forward moved into the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals with a 61-56 win over the Leopards at Peters Township’s AHN Arena.
The Warriors (17-6) watched a 10-point lead evaporate to one in the last six minutes before adding key baskets at the end.
“The biggest thing for us was just staying level-headed,” EF coach Noah Yartin said, “We knew it was going to be a close game and that they were going to make their push there at the end. I thought the biggest thing at the end was being able to play defense without fouling.”
Rhythm and flow were hard to come by with officials calling a total of 42 fouls in the game.
“We were trying to get into a flow, but it was hard with the foul trouble we were in,” Belle Vernon coach Cornelious Nesbit said. “We finally did find that rhythm at the end and made the run. We had our opportunities throughout the game and didn’t capitalize.”
Mia Sostaric led the Warriors with 18 points, and fellow senior Kaelynn Settles finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“We were confident coming in, and we thought we’d have a little advantage on the defensive end,” Yartin said. “Mia and Kae have the experience in games like this. When we needed them to handle it at the end, they did what seniors are supposed to do. They led when we needed them to.”
The Leopards (20-4) led 18-15 after a back-and-forth first quarter. After trailing early on, they scored six straight to take a lead.
Just before the end of the quarter, Belle Vernon’s 6-foot-2 junior Aubrey Brown picked up her second foul and added a third early in the second quarter.
“Not having Aubrey on the floor hurt us a bit,” Nesbit said. “But we got good contributions from Emerson (LaCarte), Mia (Roebuck) and everyone off the bench.”
The Warriors hit seven 3-pointers in the game, including two by McKenna Bittner and Addison Wach that helped their team take a 25-20 advantage.
Late in the second, EF went on a 10-2 run to take a 10-point lead at 35-25.
“We did a good job of driving and kicking out to our shooters,” Yartin said. “Defensively, I think we did a good job of taking that away from them.”
Before the half, Leopards 6-1 freshman Isis Almyty started becoming a factor.
Almyty finished with 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds and was instrumental in a 7-0 run over the final 1:34 of the half to cut the Warriors’ advantage to 35-32.
“We didn’t hit the long shots we usually do, but a lot of that was the plan of getting the ball inside to Isis,” Nesbit said. “I thought she really rose to the level of play that we have expectations for. She stayed composed and played with force inside.”
Almyty scored nine points in the third quarter, including baskets after crashing the offensive glass.
“That’s where I thought we could have done a little bit better,” Yartin said. “She kind of had her way in there. We wanted to make her work, which we made her do. We wanted to keep the ball out of the middle.”
In the third, Brown picked up her fourth foul early and headed to the bench and didn’t return until the fourth.
The Warriors took advantage again, going on a 9-1 run that pushed their lead back up to 10. They went on to lead 50-42 after three.
After an Almyty three-point play, Wach hit another big 3-pointer from the corner, and a basket by Mia Curinga inside got the lead back to double digits.
Then the Leopards made their run.
Almyty and fellow freshman Lyla McConnell combined for a quick six points before Settles hit 1 of 2 from the line.
After an EF turnover, Abby Russell scored to cut the EF lead to 56-53.
After Kaylin Staszak hit 1 of 2, McConnell made a strong move to the hoop for a basket and a foul. She completed the three-point play to make it a one-point game at 57-56.
Elizabeth Forward then beat the Leopards’ pressure defense for an easy layup from Settles, and Sostaric added two late shots from the line to seal the win and send the Warriors to the semifinals.
They’ll face No. 1 Blackhawk (21-0) on Monday at a site and time to be determined.
“I’m proud of them. Did the experience play into it a little? Maybe. But I really loved our determination and the fight. We talked about our DNA. Now we have to take it into a consolation game at our place. We haven’t lost back-to-back games all season,” Nesbit said. “Let this hurt. Let this sting because you care. But these girls want to get to the state playoffs. So now we have to go win a game at our place.”
For Yartin, another trip to the semifinals against a common foe is on deck.
“This was a big win for us,” Yartin said. “I think the girls showed that we play for more than T-shirts. We’re going to the semifinals and still have a shot at a championship.”