Familiar foes face Bucs, Hillers
Familiarity can breed contempt. It also can breed complacency.
The latter is what Chartiers-Houston’s Laura Montecalvo and Trinity’s Bob Miles are trying to guard against as they head into their WPIAL girls basketball semifinal games this week.
Montecalvo’s Bucs (21-2) face Section 1-AA opponent Our Lady of Sacred Heart at 6:15 p.m. today at Peters Township as part of a doubleheader that also will feature a Class A boys semifinal game between Union (18-6) and top-seeded Monessen (16-7) scheduled to start at 8 p.m.
But while the Greyhounds and Scotties will be playing for the first time, the Bucs have already beaten OLSH twice, 36-29 in their first meeting and 53-34 in the rematch at Chartiers-Houston.
“It’s tough to play a good team three times,” said Montecalvo, whose team advanced to the semifinals with a 60-44 win over Leechburg last week. “But it does put us in a position to know our opponent well. But we try to prepare like we would for an opponent we haven’t played before.”
Miles said he feels the same way.
Trinity, which lost to section rival South Fayette in last year’s WPIAL Class AAA title game, saw its section split up this year with the state’s move to six classifications.
The Hillers won’t get another shot at the Lions in their Class 5-A semifinal game Wednesday at Moon (8 p.m.). South Fayette was beaten, 48-31, Saturday by Chartiers Valley, another team that played with the Hillers and Lions last year in Section 5-AAA.
While Trinity (22-2) and Char Valley (17-7) didn’t play in the same section this season, they did square off in a nonsection game at California University Dec. 27. The Hillers won that game 58-42. They swept the Colts last season.
“Being in separate sections, we followed what they did, but it wasn’t up close like it would have been if they were still with us,” said Miles. “But it will help in preparation. There really aren’t any secrets at this point. It’s going to come down to execution.”
In another game featuring a rematch, the West Greene girls will play top-seeded Winchester Thurston (19-1) Tuesday at West Allegheny (6:15 p.m.).
The Pioneers (19-4) hosted Winchester Thurston Jan. 20, losing 58-42, but gaining some experience against a top-ranked team that could help the second time around.
In the other boys basketball game involving a local team, Washington (20-4) will play Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (19-5) in a Class AAA semifinal at 8 p.m. today at Moon.
The second-seeded Prexies, despite playing without leading scorer Matt Popeck, have won their first two playoff games, beating Burrell and Riverside to qualify for the PIAA playoffs.
But Washington and North Catholic, which played in Class AA and A, respectively, last season, haven’t met during this season.
The shakeup of the sections because of reclassification made this an interesting season for many coaches.
“Last year and the year before, we played Bishop Canevin a lot,” said Montecalvo of the Crusaders, who also played in the same section as the Bucs. “This year, we knew we’d be running into some teams we hadn’t seen before because of the changes in sections. So we had to do a little more homework.”
All five local teams still alive were expected to get to this point. All were seeded at least in the top four in their respective classifications.
But, as Miles noted, expectations and reality sometimes collide with poor results.
“I think our girls wanted to be in this situation,” Miles said. “Was it expected? Eh. You never know how a season is going to go. A key injury can derail things. But our girls were focused on getting back to this point. They find ways to win games. Some teams can’t manufacture wins. But this one has found ways. The expectations are high to get back to (the title game).”
That could happen if they can avoid the complacency that sometimes comes with playing a familiar foe that has been beaten before.
“You do that that thought in the back of your mind,” Montecalvo conceded. “But at this point, I don’t think they care who they play. They just want to get to the championship game.”