Seton-LaSalle wins battle of girls basketball unbeatens
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Seton-LaSalle's Natalie Piaggesi, left, and Oakland Catholic's Jess Mrdjenovich reach for a rebound in the showdown of No. 1- ranked teams Saturday at Oakland Catholic.
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In a matchup WPIAL girls basketball had not seen in 23 years, it took Seton-LaSalle a little over two minutes to reign supreme in a much-anticipated showdown of the area's final two undefeated teams.
Naje Gibson scored 19 points, including the go-ahead basket with 2:05 left, to vault Class AA Seton-LaSalle to a 60-52 win Saturday at Class AAAA Oakland Catholic. Both teams were ranked No. 1 in their classifications by the Post-Gazette.
It was the first time two undefeated WPIAL girls teams had met this late in the season since 1989 when North Catholic, led by current Trojanettes coach Molly Rottmann (then Molly Larkin), defeated Beaver Falls in the WPIAL Class AAA championship game.
In a packed gymnasium with a playoff-like atmosphere, Seton-LaSalle (20-0), which leads the WPIAL in scoring at 70 points per game, earned its 41st win in a row against WPIAL competition by scoring more points against Oakland Catholic (21-1) than the Eagles had allowed in a game all season.
"They're a very good basketball team, but we are too," Seton-LaSalle coach Dennis Squeglia said. "Hype is hype, but when you live up to it, it's even better. And I think we lived up to it tonight."
Gibson also lived up to her billing as one of the top sophomores in the WPIAL. She scored two big baskets to help the Rebels close the game on a 12-1 run.
"We told each other that we came too far to let this go," said Gibson, who added a game-high 15 rebounds.
Oakland Catholic led, 51-48, before Gibson's layup with 2:39 remaining brought Seton-LaSalle within a point. Then, after the Rebels' Angela Heintz missed the front end of a one-and-one, Gibson's rebound and putback put Seton-LaSalle ahead for good, 52-51.
The Rebels continued to pound the offensive glass the remainder of the game with a front line that dwarfed Oakland Catholic's. That, combined with some late shooting woes, sealed the Eagles' fate.
"We knew that our biggest disadvantage going in was that we were undersized and I think that's what showed in the final two minutes," Oakland Catholic coach Shannon Boyle said.
Eagles guard Bobbi Baker was terrific, pouring in a game-high 23 points.
For Seton-LaSalle, Natalie Piaggesi scored 14 points and Heintz added 11.
The game was evenly played throughout. The score was tied after the first quarter and halftime. From the 3:56 mark of the second quarter until there was 40 seconds left in the fourth, neither team led by more than four points.
"It was the funniest game we played all year," Gibson said. "We just want to keep it going."
First Published February 12, 2012 12:00 am
