Out of the gates: Lady Mustangs jump out to huge lead in playoff win over Knoch
Every coach likes a fast start, but how their team finishes is what鈥檚 key.
Stewart Davis had both on Monday night in Laurel Highlands鈥� 61-43 victory over Knoch in the first round of the WPIAL girls Class 4A playoffs at Harold 鈥淗orse鈥� Taylor Memorial Gymnasium.
The Lady Mustangs (17-5) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first 4 minutes and 11 seconds and were never in trouble, as they advanced to the quarterfinals on Thursday against top-seed Blackhawk (21-2) at a site and time to be determined.
Davis understands the challenge that awaits his team, but he is confident in their abilities to play with the Lady Cougars, and avenge last year鈥檚 loss in the WPIAL semifinals.
鈥淲e understand the situation we鈥檙e in, but hopefully we can go down there and spoil things for them,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 wanted a bigger win to show the WPIAL that we are for real, but I am happy with the win. I give credit to Knoch. They never quit and were a feisty group.鈥�
If Laurel Highlands was looking ahead to the quarterfinals, it didn鈥檛 show it in the first quarter, as Ayrianna Sumpter made a three pointer, Taylor Schwertfeger scored on a layup and Aierra Jenkins made two free throws for a 7-0 lead before any late-arriving fans could get to their seats.
Miya Harris鈥� 3-pointer extended the Lady Mustangs鈥� advantage to 10-0 before Schwertfeger made two foul shots for a 12-0 lead.
Another basket by Schwertfeger with 3:49 left in the first quarter prompted Lady Knights coach Shane McGraw to take a timeout.
鈥淲e dug such a big hole early,鈥� McGraw said. 鈥淲e knew they were talented offensively and very strong defensively, but I am proud of the way the girls dug out of that early hole to keep us in the game and they showed resilience.
鈥淚t is almost like pick your poison with Laurel Highlands. If you work to stop their inside game, they have girls that can shoot the three, and if you stop that, they are tough inside. I think Laurel Highlands is a really tough matchup for anybody. They have three dynamic stories at different levels, so I think they can compete with anybody.鈥�
Karlee Buterbaugh ended Laurel Highlands鈥� run with a basketball at 3:10 of the first period. Buterbaugh, who was the lone senior on Knoch鈥檚 roster, shared game-high scoring honors with Harris, as she scored 16 points on four field goals, including three from behind-the-arc, and she was 5 of 8 at the foul line.
鈥淪he (Buterbaugh) is our lone senior and will be hard to replace,鈥� McGraw said. 鈥淪he was a really good leader and the girls loved her, but we will bring back three or four starters next year, so we are optimistic.鈥�
Harris鈥� 16 points came on four field goals (two 3-pointers) and she was 6 of 6 at the foul line. Schwertfeger scored 13 points on five field goals and was 3 of 3 at the line.
Sumpter added 10 points on four field goals (two 3-pointers) and Jenkins put in three field goals and was 4 of 5 at the foul line. Jenkins had eight rebounds and blocked seven shots.
Taylor Irwin put in seven and Righteous Richardson closed the scoring with five points.
鈥淭aylor (Schwertfeger) was able to pick her spots,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淭hey were pressuring up on Miya some and forgetting the back side. They wanted to take away the post, which they did, but we were able to move the ball, and that one extra pass was working out for us.
鈥淲ith AJ (Jenkins), when she鈥檚 on, she鈥檚 on,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淒efensively, she鈥檚 always there and she鈥檚 always talking. She鈥檚 the loudest one on the floor helping her teammates get through screens and to rotate in our zone. She played well.鈥�
The Lady Mustangs had a 16-5 lead after the first quarter.
The Lady Knights (12-11) cut the deficit to 24-17 in the second period, but Harris was fouled while shooting a three-pointer and made all three free throws to put the lead up to double digits. LH shot 15 of 16 at the foul line.
Laurel Highlands had a 35-20 advantage at halftime.
The Lady Mustangs pushed their lead to 50-28 after a 15-8 advantage in the third quarter, but Knoch outscored the home team, 15-11, in the fourth period.