Magestro leads Kennedy Catholic past Lady Pioneers
West Greene鈥檚 Jersey Wise tries to rip the ball from the grasp of Kennedy Catholic鈥檚 Alaina Suhar during a PIAA Class A first-round game at Peters Township High School. (Photo by Luke Campbell)
Luke Campbell
Luke Campbell
West Greene鈥檚 Anna Durbin (5) drives against Kennedy Catholic in a PIAA Class A first-round game at Peters Township High School Saturday.
McMURRAY 鈥� Malia Magestro ran the baseline and whatever West Greene girls basketball player responsible for guarding her was dodged, ducked, dipped, dived and dodged again.
Kennedy Catholic moves heaven and earth to get its standout player the basketball.
The Lady Pioneers changed from one defense to the next 鈥� a diamond-and-one, box-and-one, triangle-and-two and double-team 鈥� each designed to stop Magestro.
鈥淭hey run off picks, picks and more picks,鈥� West Greene coach Jordan Watson said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if she鈥檚 the best athlete we have gone against, but I do know she鈥檚 the best shooter we have ever played.鈥�
Magestro, running around one screen after another, scored a game-high 24 points as District 10 champion Kennedy Catholic pulled away from West Greene early in the second half for a 52-38 win in a PIAA Class A first-round tournament game Saturday afternoon at Peters Township High School.
It was fewer points than Magestro averages (26.6) and less than the 34 she poured in during last year鈥檚 opening-round win against the Lady Pioneers, but the points were enough to keep West Greene scratching its head and looking for answers after losing in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
鈥淥verall, we held her below her average,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淲e did OK. She scores 24 points rolling out of bed. You have to get over the top of the screens with her. She shoots from the volleyball line and makes it. She knows how to use screens and doesn鈥檛 need much time. She catches the ball ready to score. Her range is just inside of half court, I think. She鈥檚 great.鈥�
The open looks for Magestro began in the second quarter when she made a trio of 3-pointers to build a lead for Kennedy Catholic (21-3), which led 26-20 at halftime.
Maybe the biggest shot she made came 33 seconds after halftime. Finding an open look from well beyond the arc, she pulled up to drain yet another three and spark a 9-2 run to begin the second half. The Lady Pioneers鈥� lone points in the third quarter were a pair of Elizabeth Brudnock free throws with 3:32 left, a short jumper from Brooke Barner at 2:10 and Anna Durbin making 1-of-2 foul shots with 41 seconds remaining.
West Greene was outscored 13-5 in the eight minutes following the halftime break.
鈥淲e were in the game and nobody was in foul trouble,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淲e told them in the locker room that the first four minutes of the third quarter is going to be very important 鈥� and we didn鈥檛 score a point. I guess I shouldn鈥檛 have told them that.鈥�
Magestro鈥檚 three off a West Greene turnover with 1:06 left in the third quarter extended the Lady Golden Eagles鈥� advantage to 15 points, 39-24, the largest lead of the day for either team.
Kennedy Catholic didn鈥檛 trail the entire game despite four 3-pointers from the Lady Pioneers in the first quarter.
鈥淚 was a little scared of the diagonal threes, the ones from the corners,鈥� Kennedy Catholic coach Justin Magestro said. 鈥淲e wanted to see if we could trap them early and it didn鈥檛 work. We then went straight man-to-man. We kept them in front of us. We told our kids they had to stay between them and the basket. I thought we did that.鈥�
West Greene didn鈥檛 make a three after the first quarter and was held to 11 points over the second and third quarters.
Brudnock led the Lady Pioneers with 17 points. Durbin had nine and Barner finished with seven.
Kennedy Catholic made nine threes, six by Magestro and three in the first quarter by Mariah Vincent, who scored all nine of her points in the opening eight minutes. Bellah DiNardo had 13 points for the Lady Golden Eagles.
鈥淚 think we are probably two of the top-five teams in the state,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淚t wouldn鈥檛 surprise me to see Kennedy Catholic and Rochester in the semifinals. We are very proud of our 24-2 record. It may have taken the two best teams in the state to beat us.鈥�