Greyhounds hope to keep winning streak alive
Jim Downey | 缅北禁地
Southmoreland鈥檚 Delaynie Morvosh shoots a layup against Belle Vernon during a game on Jan. 27. The Lady Scotties host Highlands tonight in a WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinal game.
Rob Burchianti | 缅北禁地/
Monessen鈥檚 Lorenzo Gardner puts in two of his game-high 23 points during a game at Carmichaels on Feb. 8. The Greyhounds play in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals tonight against Greensburg Central Catholic at Norwin.
Victory No. 16 of Monessen鈥檚 long winning streak didn鈥檛 come easily.
Greyhounds coach Dan Bosnic doesn鈥檛 think that was necessarily a bad thing.
Monessen, the fifth seed, fought off No. 12 Jeannette, 69-59, to earn a spot in the WPIAL Class AA boys basketball quarterfinals tonight against No. 4 Greensburg Central Catholic at Norwin.
鈥淛eannette was a tough game,鈥� Bosnic said. 鈥淲e have a lot of inexperience on our team and we had to play well to win the game so I think it should help us moving forward.鈥�
The Greyhounds join two local teams on the girls side that also play quarterfinal games tonight, both in Class AAAA. Second-seeded Southmoreland hosts No. 7 Highlands and fifth-seeded Elizabeth Forward travels to No. 4 Beaver.
It鈥檒l take another strong effort for Monessen (19-4), the Section 2 champion, to stretch its winning streak to 17 and move into the semifinals, according to Bosnic.
鈥淕reensburg is a good team with a lot of size and they have kids with playoff experience,鈥� Bosnic pointed out. 鈥淭hey played in the WPIAL finals last year.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be a challenge. We鈥檒l have to play really well and do things we always have to do to be successful to win the game. We鈥檙e going to have to be effective on defense and create a lot of turnovers. It kind of always starts and ends there for us.鈥�
Bosnic has coached some strong teams in the past and guided Connellsville to a 20-3 record in 2011, but he鈥檚 never had a team string this many wins together.
鈥淣o, I鈥檝e never experienced this before,鈥� Bosnic said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a credit to our kids that they鈥檝e been able to stay focused throughout this time. They were an inexperienced group coming in and they came together fast and really jelled. The all do whatever they need to do every night for the team to be successful. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 been fun.鈥�
The Centurions (17-3), who finished first in Section 3, will play as the home team although the game was moved from their home court to accommodate a bigger crowd.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to go to Norwin,鈥� Bosnic said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big court. We would鈥檝e played anywhere to be honest and be happy about it.鈥�
GCC defeated South Side Beaver in the first round, 70-43.
Comparing scores can be tricky and that鈥檚 the case with the Centurions and the Greyhounds. GCC routed section foe Jeannette handily twice, 63-43 and 75-36. However, the Centurions were beaten soundly at home by Serra Catholic, 69-53, on Feb. 11, the same team Monessen defeated on the road, 69-55, three days later.
Monessen鈥檚 probably starting lineup includes Lorenzo Gardner, Kody Kuhns, Jaisean Blackman, Dante DeFelices and Leonaj Thomas.
Southmoreland (17-3), the Section 3 champion which received a first-round bye, enters its game against Highlands having not played in two weeks.
鈥淲e did have about 15 days off,鈥� Lady Scotties coach Amber Cernuto said. 鈥淲e tried to do some other team activities rather than just stay in the gym the whole time, team bonding activities and things like that and take a little bit of the pressure off the girls.鈥�
Cernuto feels her team is refreshed and ready to go.
鈥淲e took some time off with the break to get healthy,鈥� Cernuto said. 鈥淲e did have some nagging injuries, nothing serious, but they needed some rest so that everybody could regroup and get ready to go.鈥�
Cernuto sees Highlands (19-4), the second-place team out of Section 1, as a formidable foe.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a really good team,鈥� Cernuto said. 鈥淭hey have three or four dominating shooters out at the 3-point line. They have a couple forwards that aren鈥檛 real big and tall but have some nice post moves and can get to the hoop. Defensively, they really put pressure on you. They鈥檙e very active and very aggressive.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a battle.鈥�
The Golden Rams beat West Mifflin in the first round, 51-33. Southmoreland owns a pair of wins over the Lady Titans, 61-32 and 53-37.
The Lady Scotties鈥� probable starting lineup includes Cernuto鈥檚 daughter, Olivia Cerntuo, along with Delaynie Morvosh, Elle Pawlikowsky, Gracie Spadaro and Maddie Moore.
Elizabeth Forward (18-4) faces a road game against a Beaver team that has lost just once at home this year. The Lady Bobcats (16-5), who were second in Section 2, knocked off Freeport in the first round, 46-28.
Coach Krystal Gibbs鈥� Lady Warriors, who finished second behind Southmoreland in Section 3, disposed of Central Valley, 73-41, in the first round. Beaver has also played Central Valley, three times, winning by 30, 34 and 14 points.
Elizabeth Forward鈥檚 top players include seniors Brooke Markland, Bailie Brinson and Haven Briggs, who each played on the Lady Warriors鈥� final four team as freshmen three years ago, and junior Joselyn Dawson.