Feb 13, 2015 3 min read

CRANBERRY – The perk of being a section champ is to get a couple extra days of rest while the preliminary round takes place in the WPIAL basketball playoffs.

Well, that is the case for every section champion except the Washington High School girls team.

“I was a little bit surprised,” Washington coach Mike Maltony said. “I think we got a little bit disrespected. Every other section champ is not playing right now.”

With a chip on their shoulders, the Prexies showed they belong in the first round after defeating Shenango, 46-39, in the Class AA preliminary round at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School.

The Prexies will face Section 5 co-champion Our Lady of Sacred Heart Tuesday at Chartiers Valley.

From start to finish, the Prexies (14-9) threatened to break away, but the Wildcats (12-10) continued to scratch their way back into it, making things interesting at the end.

“It takes the wind out of your sail when you are not making shots,” Shenango coach Brian Turk said. “We usually make them early and get out on teams. We were not setting the tempo, and we were chasing and weren’t able to relax a couple of kids because we were falling behind. You can’t set your game plan where you want.”

Early in the third quarter, the Prexies stretched the lead to 34-22 but Maltony knew Shenango was still dangerous.

“It was a little iffy there,” Maltony said. “It was more stressful. I know the type of team we are. Once we get a little rattled, there goes the turnovers. We throw the ball away.”

The Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 34-29, forcing Washington to call a timeout.

The two teams continued to trade baskets as the fourth quarter clock ran down. With a 36-31 lead, junior Nicole Hoffman drained a 3-pointer to give the Prexies breathing room.

The Wildcats cut it to 39-35 before the shot of the game. With 3:36 remaining, senior guard Taylor Ellis connected on her fourth three-pointer.

“It was a big deal,” Ellis said. “It is my job, so it is what I can do to help the team. It feels really good. I wasn’t ready for my senior season to end. I am glad it is continuing.”

Though Washington faltered down the stretch, missing an opportunity to close it out, Shenango couldn’t capitalize.

In the final minute, the Prexies went 1-for-5 from the free-throw line with a lane violation.

“In the end, when we put them on the foul line, they missed three out of four times. But we couldn’t capitalize on it,” Turk said. “We couldn’t cash in on our opportunities.”

Junior Tajah Gordon led the Prexies, scoring 11 of her game-high 14 points in the first half. Ellis finished with 13 and Mikala Maltony had 10.

For the Wildcats, Angelina Sibeto and Samantha Seaburn each had 12 points.

“We just have to take care of our errors,” Maltony said. “We have to play under composure, don’t get rattled and handle the pressure. We just have to take care of the ball and take it one basket at a time.”