Lady Greyhounds stay alive with 56-53 victory
MONESSEN — When two teams are so familiar with each other, often times the games are nailbiters.
That was the case Saturday afternoon as Monessen held on to defeat West Greene, 56-53, in the opening game of the WPIAL Class A girls consolation bracket.
Monessen (16-6) remains alive in the consolation bracket and will host Section 2-A rival Avella Wednesday for the fifth and final berth into the PIAA playoffs. The Lady Eagles (14-11) edged Eden Christian Academy, 53-51.
The loss ends West Greene’s chance of advancing to the PIAA tournament for the sixth straight year, minus the 2020-21 season when only the WPIAL champion advanced.
First-year coach Austin Crouse praised his three seniors: Ally Campbell, Taylor Karvan, and Lexie Six.
“We are going to miss them,” said Crouse. “They have brought a lot to our program.”
A total of nine points separated the Section 2-A rivals over three games this season, with the home team winning all three.
“It’s like Pittsburgh and Cleveland,” Monessen coach Janine Vertacnik said, referring to the Lady Greyhounds and Lady Pioneers while comparing them to the Steelers and Browns. “It’s a rivalry game, and when we play, you can throw out the record books.
“They are a gritty team.”
The familiarity between the teams led to 53 combined turnovers, and Austin Crouse said his team’s 32 turnovers were a big factor.
“That’s what killed us in the first half,” Crouse said of the Lady Pioneers’ 20 turnovers before halftime. “We were able to make a run in the second half, but we couldn’t overcome them.
“That’s a really good team and they will be good for a while.”
Avanti Stitch hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 17 points for Monessen. Freshman point guard Madison Johnson also scored in double figures with 12 points.
“Avanti had the game of her life,” said Vertacnik. “We had a talk yesterday on motivation and she responded in such a positive way and played with confidence today.
“We weren’t looking for her shooting today, but it really sparked us.”
Down 6-3 in the first quarter, Monessen closed the quarter on a 14-4 run to take a 17-10 lead into the second quarter.
West Greene held a 10-9 advantage in the second quarter, but Monessen maintained a six-point lead at the halftime break, 26-20.
Monessen led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter and took a 44-36 lead into the final eight minutes.
West Greene was able to cut the Monessen lead down to two points twice in the fourth quarter with the last time coming with 2:37 left, but the Lady Pioneers just couldn’t catch the Lady Greyhounds.
West Greene missed the front end of one-and-one three times in the fourth quarter.
“Missing those, that hurt us late,” said Crouse. “We worked on free throws all week.”
The Lady Pioneers finished 11-of-22 from the foul line, while Monessen made 17-of-26 attempts.
A key player in the win, according to Vertacnik, was junior guard Sidney Campbell, who ranks first in her class with a 5.0 GPA.
Usually the shooting guard, Campbell was moved to point guard because Johnson was limited due to an injury against St. Joseph Thursday.
“Sid did a great job of handling the ball,” Vertacnik said. “With freshmen guards out there with her, I think she controlled things good, and she is smart both on and off the court.”
Kasie Meek led West Greene with 17 points. Lexie Six (12) and Kendra Tharp (10) also hit double figures.
“I told the girls, we don’t want Avella saying, ‘you won the section, but we are going to states,'” said Vertacnik. “It is win or go home.”