Lost in the shuffle: Brownsville slighted in seedings, falls to No. 2 GCC, 66-31
GREENSBURG 鈥� Brownsville figured it would be pitted against a higher seeded team and thus would be an underdog in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A girls basketball playoffs.
To be relegated to the last seed in the bracket by the WPIAL pairings committee, however, was a perceived slap in the face by the team and Brownsville fans.
The Lady Falcons thus found themselves on the road against a supreme second-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic team Friday night, and the Lady Centurions rolled to a 66-31 victory.
Erica Gribble poured in a game-high 27 points and Jayla Peterson added 16 as GCC (18-5) advanced to Wednesday鈥檚 quarterfinals against No. 7 Quaker Valley, which edged McGuffey, 39-35, also Friday.
Skyler Gates rang up 17 points to lead the way for Brownsville (13-10) which also got five points apiece from Ava Clark and Zhariah Reed, and a 3-pointer from Ciara Horabik.
The Lady Falcons were seeded below teams such as No. 14 South Allegheny (5-17), which lost 56-8 to No. 3 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and Ligonier Valley (7-15), which fell to No. 4 Keystone Oaks, 56-31, in other first-round games.
How could this be?
South Allegheny and Ligonier Valley tied for fifth-place in Section 2. Brownsville was the fourth-place team out of Section 3. While the Lady Falcons fell to GCC by 35 points, the Lady Centurions hammered SA twice by 42 and 48 points and also routed LV twice by 61 and 44 points.
Brownsville seemed at least to be a lock to receive a No. 13 seed at the very least.
Brownsville coach Patty Columbia explained what she felt happened in the pairings meeting.
鈥淔irst off, I never like to criticize the WPIAL committee because I know it鈥檚 hard work and that no matter how they go about it, someone鈥檚 going to be unhappy and someone鈥檚 going to criticize their process,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淏ut, me, personally, I think we were forgotten.鈥�
Literally, Columbia meant. When the brackets were shown on a live broadcast, Brownsville was not listed on the Class 3A bracket, causing one reporter to scramble and check the final standings to see if he had interpreted them wrong.
鈥淣o, we weren鈥檛 up there,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淣obody knows quite what happened. I don鈥檛 feel that anyone sat down and seeded us as 15th. We were somehow omitted from the original 14-team bracket and then I feel they kind of just slid us in at the bottom.鈥�
The Lady Falcons gave it their best effort but the Lady Centurions proved to be too much to handle.
Greensburg Central, spurred on by their pressing, trapping defense, used a 14-point run in the first quarter to turn a 6-3 lead into a 20-3 advantage and were never threatened again.
GCC led 22-5 after the first quarter, 41-17 at halftime and 57-25 after three.
鈥淵ou never know how the first one is going to be. In my opinion it鈥檚 one of the hardest ones to win because the kids are so used to a routine,鈥� Greensburg Central coach Chris Skatell said. 鈥淭he routine changes now.鈥�
Skatell did his best to keep his team sharp, though.
鈥淲e played Monday night against Oakland Catholic which was really good for us,鈥� said Skatell of the No. 2 seed in Class 4A. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a really good team. We ended up losing the game by one but it was a great game and we played well so it got our juices going a little bit. Then we scrimmaged this week, too.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 shoot well early tonight but we got a couple buckets out of the press, then once we settled down we were alright.鈥�
Skatell was impressed by Gates, who was a force inside blocking shots and rebounding and even coming up with a couple steals.
鈥淚 knew she was a problem just from watching her on tape,鈥� Skatell said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a nice player. I asked her if she played AAU, she said nah I鈥檓 committed to UVA for volleyball,鈥� Skatell added with a chuckle.
鈥淏ut I just thought overall Brownsville was pretty well coached.鈥�
Columbia commended the Lady Centurions.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e an outstanding team,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e disciplined, well-coached, very experienced, they have great chemistry. I tip my hat to them. That鈥檚 how the game of basketball is supposed to be played. They schooled us. I wish them nothing but the best of luck the rest of the way.
鈥淚t was a clean game and a well-officiated game.鈥�
Columbia praised her own team鈥檚 efforts.
鈥淭hey played hard. I鈥檓 very proud of them,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淪kyler played her heart out. I thought she really stepped it up. She showed us what she鈥檚 really capable of.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud to be their coach. I thought they represented Brownsville well. We had nice support from the community and we really appreciate that.鈥�
It was the final game for Brownsville seniors Reed and Lydia Geary.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to miss them,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淟ydia is a great leader on the team. She knows how to take charge of situations. We鈥檙e going to miss her presence and her hustle.
鈥淎nd we鈥檙e obviously going to miss Zhariah. She鈥檚 been the heart and soul of this team the last four years. We鈥檝e got a lot of work to do to fill her shoes.鈥�