Upsets happen all the time in championship basketball games. Unfortunately for the Ford City girls, that does not seem to be a likely possibility when it plays rival Greensburg Central Catholic.

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The No. 2-seeded Centurions (21-6) led for all but the first two minutes of a 47-37 victory against the underdog Sabers (25-3) in the WPIAL Class AA final yesterday at the Palumbo Center. It is the second consecutive WPIAL title for Greensburg CC.

"We played with confidence and aggressiveness and we were the better team today," Centurions coach Rich Rosensteel said.

Pitt recruit Ashley Henderson, a senior point guard, and senior guard Kayla Marghella led Greensburg Central with 14 points each. Henderson broke the school record for career points during the game and has 1,683 points.

Junior center Erica Keto added 13 points and nine rebounds. Keto also did a decent job of making it difficult for 6-foot-2 center Marisa Wolfe to score. Wolfe, the focal point of the Sabers' offense, finished with 18 points. Almost half of her points occurred after the Centurions had control of the game in the fourth quarter.

Ford City's only losses this season were against Greensburg Central Catholic. For the past three seasons Ford City is 65-17, but 0-8 against Greensburg CC, losing by an average of 17 points. The Sabers finished second to the Centurions in Section 1.

"Just because we've beaten them before, we know it's not an automatic win," Marghella said. "When you get to the championship game, you have to bring your 'A' game and that's what we did. We played with intensity and hustled. I think we brought it."

Early in the title game, Greensburg Central used a 9-0 run to build a 20-10 second-quarter lead. Ford City cut the deficit to 21-19 by halftime. The Sabers pulled to within 25-24 with 5:26 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Rebecca Lendyak. But, the Sabers' offense dried up after that and the Centurions pulled away, leading by as many as 14 points (45-31) at one point.

It was a frustrating day for Ford City senior guard Alyssa Young, who finished with seven points. Young, one of the top players in Class AA, made only 3 of 11 shots. In the second quarter, Young blew through the Centurions' zone defense for an uncontested layup, only to miss the relatively easy shot.

"I did that when I played them at Greensburg, too," Young said. "I dribbled the whole court and when I got to the hoop, I missed my layup. I guess it was from the excitement. I beat their defense to get a wide open shot and I blew it."

For Ford City, it may have been a case of championship jitters from playing in the final for the first time, coupled with its intense desire to get past a big rival. A rival that seems to have the Sabers' number.

"We just needed to stop fouling and play our game," said Young, who fouled out in the final minute of the contest.

Greensburg CC played like it had been to the final before, which it has in each of the past three seasons.

"We take it like it's another game," Rosensteel said. "You just have to beat a team. You don't have to beat a championship. You have to go in there with total respect for your opponent. You have to play hard, but you have to take it like any other game. Our team played with a lot of poise."

Wolfe made 8 of 12 shots from the floor, but her teammates were 8 for 32 (25 percent).

"We were looking to throw the ball into [Wolfe] too much without getting any motion in our offense on the outside," Ford City coach Al Davis said. "We made some adjustments to get more motion from our guards."

Greensburg Central opens the PIAA playoffs Friday against Curwensville, while Ford City begins PIAA tournament play against Girard on the same day.