Chestnut Ridge ends Lady Raiders’ season
NEW PARIS — Waynesburg Central didn’t shoot well enough, didn’t play defense well enough and didn’t do a good job of keeping the basketball out of the hands of Chestnut Ridge’s talented and athletic junior forward Belle Bosch.
So it came as no surprise, especially after the first half hinted that this wasn’t going to be Waynesburg’s night, that the Lady Raiders didn’t play well enough to win.
Chestnut Ridge, the District 5 champion despite having a modest record, defeated Waynesburg 53-29 Tuesday night in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A girls basketball playoffs on the Lions’ home court.
Chestnut Ridge (14-11) moves on to the second round Friday night while Waynesburg, which made the WPIAL semifinals and state tournament for the first time in program history, saw its landmark season end with a 17-6 record.
The Raiders, who had won 12 of their last 13 games against Class 3A opponents, were never in control of the game and played catch-up almost the entire night.
That isn’t supposed to happen to a third-place team from the WPIAL that has two wins over highly regarded South Park and is playing an opponent that entered the contest a mere two games above .500. Waynesburg coach Dave Sarra, however, had seen video of Chestnut Ridge and he didn’t like what he saw.
“Playing South Park and playing (Chestnut Ridge) are two different matchups. South Park is more guard-oriented,” Sarra explained. “This game wasn’t a good matchup for us. They are tall and long.”
So Waynesburg needed to shoot well against the Lions. Instead, the Raiders made only two field goals in each of the first three quarters, sank just one of their first 16 three-point attempts and finished 2-for-17 from behind the arc.
“Our defense was the difference in the game,” said Chestnut Ridge head coach Mark Dillow, whose son, Noah, is a standout linebacker in the PSAC at California University.
“We knew Waynesburg has some lights-out shooters. We had to gain their attention.”
Bosch certainly got Waynesburg’s attention. Madison Hughes, the Lions’ center, not so much. Time and again Bosch was able to get the basketball inside Waynesburg’s defense and drive for a basket or pass to Hughes, who would be left alone on the low block for an easy layup. Hughes scored a game-high 20 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter when the Lions pulled away.
Waynesburg tried playing a zone defense in the first half and switched to man-to-man in the second half. Neither alignment worked.
Bosch scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half as Chestnut Ridge forged an 11-9 lead in the first quarter and then outscored the Raiders 14-4 in the second for a 25-13 halftime advantage.
Waynesburg was still within striking distance at 34-22 late in the third quarter before Chestnut Ridge scored five points in six seconds and went on a game-clinching 13-0 run.
The Lions’ Caylie Colon made a deep three-pointer from the right wing with one second left in the third quarter, and Hughes sank two free throws five seconds into the fourth quarter to make it 39-22.
A three-point play by Hughes, and another three-pointer by Colon that was followed by a Hughes layup, gave the Lions a 47-22 lead. Colon scored 12 points, all on three-point shots.
“Playing on the road, it’s tough when you don’t have the momentum,” Sarra said.
Waynesburg was led in scoring by Clara Paige Miller’s 10 points. Kaley Rohanna had eight points but only two in the second half as the Raiders were unable to generate enough offense to fuel a comeback.
“I am so proud of their accomplishments,” Sarra said of his players. “We won a section title, the first since 1986, made it to the WPIAL semifinals and the state tournament.
“We knew from watching the film that this would be a struggle. The matchups weren’t there. We had nobody tall and athletic enough to guard (Bosch). We played zone and they got it to her in the middle and she made good decisions.”