ALTOONA — Late in the first half of Friday’s PIAA Class 3A girls basketball quarterfinal against Trinity of Camp Hill, Greensburg Central Catholic trailed by 10 points.
But that’s when the Centurions started to chip away, thanks in part to Avery Jones getting to the free-throw line including drawing the bonus free-throw with less than a minute to go. That helped cut the deficit to five, and GCC used a huge second-half run en route to a 65-51 victory at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
The win clinches the Centurions’ third appearance in the state semifinals in four years.
GCC (22-7) went on a 23-3 run coming out of halftime, led by Erica Gribble scoring 14 of her team-high 25 points.
“She’s the motor,” Centurions coach Chris Skatell said of Gribble. “Once we got her going offensively, that was it.”
Their reward is a team that has had their number this year in Shady Side Academy on Monday night at a site time to be announced. The Bulldogs beat District 6 champion Central Cambria.
Gribble’s efforts started early in the third as she knocked down a jumper to tie it before adding another to give the Centurions the lead at 36-34 with about 5 minutes left in the quarter.
And she wasn’t done as she drained a pair of 3-pointers, stretching the advantage to 52-37.
“The first half, it was a little rocky for us,” Gribble said. “I think I had those three turnovers, and I was frustrated with myself. I knew I had to turn it around in the second half. I came out confident, and I was hitting my shots.”
The move to a man defense also helped play a role in slowing down the Shamrocks’ Emma Kostela-Laurer, who ended the night with a game-high 29 points — scoring 19 in the first half.
“(Kostela-Laurer) basically had all of their points in the first half,” Gribble said. “Jayla (Peterson) was tired, so I just switched on her. Our coach always says the first couple minutes of the third quarter defines the rest of the game. Playing (man defense), and playing within ourselves to have that confidence to play great defense helped us a lot.”
Peterson found her touch during the fourth as she knocked down a pair of buckets on her way to finishing with 14, and Jones added six of her 16 points in the fourth.
“They’re a District (3) champion. They’re a really good team,” Skatell said. “(Kostela-Laurer) got off early. We switched up the ‘D’ a little bit on her, get her iced out a little bit. We run a lot of stuff. Early in the game everybody’s up in your kitchen, and they’re chasing you around. We keep pounding it, and we keep pounding it. Eventually it loosens up, and opportunities come.”
Trinity coach Norris Cole, whose team finished 23-4, credited the Centurions for capitalizing on his team’s mistakes.
“We didn’t execute the way that we’re supposed to,” he said. “They’re a good team, but we made a lot of mistakes. I’m proud of our girls. They’re a tough team. Gribble, she’s a really good player. It was nice to see her and Emma put on a nice show tonight.”
Skatell said his team’s balance kept the season going.
“Grib, she led us tonight,” he said. “We were pretty flat, we were tired, we need some rest. She stepped up, Jayla circled back around, did what she needed to do. Avery Jones (with a strong game), Abby Dlugos with a bunch of boards. Morgan (Skoloda) gave us great minutes. I’ve been telling these kids since the jump, it’s all team.”