Lady Leopards fall to Freeport, 44-38
Jonathan Guth | 缅北禁地
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Rachel Wobrak puts up a shot while being defended by Freeport鈥檚 Harley Halloway (5), Melaina Dezort (34) and Sidney Shemanski in Monday鈥檚 first-round playoff game in the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs at North Hills Middle School. Wobrak, a senior, scored 10 points in her final high school contest, as the Lady Yellow Jackets topped the Lady Leopards, 44-38.
Jonathan Guth | 缅北禁地
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Jenna Dawson puts up a shot as Freeport鈥檚 Louisa Fennell (23) and Sidney Shemanski watches the play develop in Monday鈥檚 first-round playoff game in the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs. Dawson had 10 points, but the Lady Leopards lost, 44-38.
Jonathan Guth | 缅北禁地
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Taylor Rodriguez drives to the basket while being guarded by Freeport鈥檚 Louisa Fennell in Monday鈥檚 WPIAL Class AAAA first-round playoff game at North Hills Middle School.
Jonathan Guth | 缅北禁地
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Rachel Wobrak drives to the hoop while being watched by Freeport鈥檚 Melaina Dezort in Monday鈥檚 first-round playoff game in the WPIAL Class AAAA at North Hills Middle School.
Jonathan Guth | 缅北禁地
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Tara Callaway passes in Monday鈥檚 first-round playoff game against Freeport at North Hills Middle School.
PITTSBURGH 鈥� Belle Vernon held Freeport to 11 points below its average, but the Lady Leopards couldn鈥檛 get enough key stops or shots to fall in a 44-38 setback on Monday in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAAA girls鈥� basketball playoffs at North Hills Middle School.
Belle Vernon (16-7) cut the deficit to one with 40.4 seconds remaining when Jenna Dawson put in two of her 10 points on a layup, but the Lady Yellow Jackets鈥� Sidney Shemanski made two at the foul line for a 41-38 lead with 21.7 left. The Lady Leopards couldn鈥檛 score on their next possession and Shemanski made 1 of 2 at the line, and teammate Madaline Clark went 2 of 2 to close things out.
鈥淲e fought but I definitely think our youth showed a little bit tonight,鈥� Belle Vernon coach Ronnie Drennen said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 get stops when we needed to get stops, and we didn鈥檛 execute when we needed to execute.鈥�
Clark scored a game-high 13 points on four field goals, and was 5 of 6 at the (all in the fourth quarter), and Shemanski added 12 on three field goals (1 three-pointer) and was 5 of 9 at the line.
Freeport (17-6) had a 10-7 lead after the first quarter, as Taylor Rodriguez scored four points for Belle Vernon and Dawson made a three-pointer. Rodriguez went 7 of 8 from the free-throw line in scoring nine points.
Both teams scored 12 in the second quarter and the Lady Yellow Jackets had a 22-19 halftime advantage.
The Lady Leopards opened the second half on a 6-2 run to take a 25-24 lead with 4:40 left in the period after senior Rachel Wobrak connected on a three-pointer. Wobrak shared team-high scoring honors with Dawson in scoring 10 on three field goals (1 three-pointer) and was 3 of 4 at the line.
鈥淪he (Wobrak) and Vienna Bertram have given their heart and soul to this program,鈥� said Drennen when asked about his seniors. 鈥淭hey have come in and worked so hard every day during the offseason, and in season, and I know how much it meant to them to want to get over the hump and get this playoff victory. Unfortunately, we just couldn鈥檛 do that for them.鈥�
Freshman Farrah Reader had a key basket in Belle Vernon鈥檚 run, as she cut the deficit to one after scoring on a putback, being fouled and making the foul shot for the and-one.
In addition to Bertram and Wobrak, the Lady Leopards鈥� Kori Kuhns and Emily McGowan are also graduating.
Freeport plays second-seeded Southmoreland (22-0) on Thursday in the quarterfinals at Penn-Trafford High School. The tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. The Lady Scotties won a non-section meeting between the two, 63-23, on Dec. 7.
The Lady Yellow Jackets鈥� Melaina Dezort scored 10 points on three field goals (1 three-pointer) and was 3 of 6 at the line.
鈥淚 thought we did a pretty good job of stopping them defensively,鈥� Drennen said. 鈥淲e prepped a little on their dribble drives. I thought we made it really hard for them at times, but we also made it really easier for them at times. I am proud of our girls鈥� defense. They worked really hard.鈥�