Lady Scots’ season closes with 72-52 loss to Blackhawk
Jim Downey | 缅北禁地
Southmoreland鈥檚 Olivia Cernuto floats a shot over the defense in the first quarter of Saturday鈥檚 PIAA Class AAAA second round playoff game against Blackhawk at North Allegheny. Cernuto scored 14 points in the Lady Scots鈥� 72-52 loss.
Jim Downey | 缅北禁地
Southmoreland鈥檚 Gracie Spadaro shoots over Blackhawk鈥檚 Haley Romigh in the first quarter of Saturday鈥檚 PIAA Class AAAA second round playoff game at North Allegheny. Spadaro, a senior, led the Lady Scots with 16 points.
Blackhawk's Kassie Potts fights through a screen set by Southmoreland's Gracie Spadaro (15) for teammate Elle Pawlikowsky in the first quarter of Saturday's PIAA Class AAAA second round playoff game at North Allegheny. Pawlikowsky scored three points in her final game with the Lady Scots.
Southmoreland's Olivia Cernuto shoots over Blackhawk's Alena Fusetti (11) and Kassie Potts (2) in the second quarter of Saturday's PIAA Class AAAA second round playoff game at North Allegheny.
Southmoreland's Olivia Cernuto gets a step on Blackhawk's Alena Fusetti as she drives the lane in the second quarter of Saturday's PIAA Class AAAA second round playoff game at North Allegheny.
Southmoreland's Delaynie Morvosh banks a shot off the glass in the first quarter of Saturday's PIAA Class AAAA second round playoff game against Blackhawk at North Allegheny. Morvosh finished with seven points in her final game for the Lady Scots.
Southmoreland's Olivia Cernuto splits a pair of Blackhawk defenders to put up a shot in the first quarter of Saturday's PIAA Class AAAA second round playoff game at North Allegheny.
WEXFORD 鈥� Southmoreland coach Amber Cernuto knew of Blackhawk鈥檚 propensity to shoot 鈥� and convert 鈥� from 3-point range.
The Lady Cougars did the expected, making 10 in the game and five in the first half, as Blackhawk advanced to the PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals with a 72-52 victory.
Blackhawk (26-0) advances to play Villa Maria in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Villa Maria (23-2) defeated Bedford, 59-29.
Alena Fusetti sparked the Blackhawk offense with a game-high 29 points. She scored 17 points in the first half after making four 3-pointers.
Fusetti hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Lady Cougars built a 21-12 lead after the first eight minutes.
鈥淭hey were on. We knew they were 3-point shooters. You can鈥檛 match twos with threes,鈥� said Southmoreland coach Amber Cernuto.
Elle Pawlikowsky鈥檚 3-pointer closed the gap to 30-23, but Blackhawk scored the final nine points of the second quarter for a 39-23 halftime lead.
Fusetti scored 17 points in the first half. Kassie Potts added nine of her 16 points in the first 16 minutes.
Despite the halftime deficit, Amber Cernuto felt her squad played to the game plan, save slowing Blackhawk鈥檚 accurate 3-point shooting.
鈥淲e wanted to take care of their pressure, which I think we did. We wanted to put the ball in the post. We knew we were a little taller than them, but we just didn鈥檛 finish,鈥� said Amber Cernuto.
The lead remained in double digits for the remainder of the game with the Lady Scots unable to close the gap.
Southmoreland managed to outscore Blackhawk in the third quarter, 19-16, but only whittled three points off the double-digit deficit.
Blackhawk closed the game with a 17-10 advantage in the fourth quarter.
鈥淚t felt like a 12-, 15-point game the whole time. I didn鈥檛 realize until I looked up at the clock with about three minutes left it was 20 points,鈥� said Amber Cernuto.
Southmoreland senior Gracie Spadaro closed out her stellar career with a team-high 16 points. Olivia Cernuto added 14. Delaynie Morvosh and Maddie Moore finished with seven points apiece.
鈥淎bsolutely, it was a great season. These girls had a great run,鈥� said Amber Cernuto. 鈥淭he seniors (Gracie Spadaro, Elle Pawlikosky and Delaynie Morvosh) never lost at home.鈥�