Feb 1, 2024 3 min read

By Joe Smeltzer

For the Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

McDONALD – After Fort Cherry’s game against Burgettstown Thursday night, FC girls basketball coach Clarence Edwards cried.

In sports, crying after a game often means either something great happened for a team or something terrible happened.

For Edwards and Fort Cherry (7-1, 15-4) something great happened on the first night of February.

The Rangers avenged an early season loss to rival Burgettstown with a 39-25 win.

Raney Staub, who scored her 1,000th point earlier this season, led all scorers with 16.

Collectively, Fort Cherry is in position to at least gain a share of the section championship for the first time in 12 years, and the fourth-year coach loved it.

“It’s just been a tough season,” Edwards said. “A lot of ups and downs with this group of girls, especially the seniors. You know, we’ve come close a couple of times, trying to win a section championship. I know the season’s not over yet.

“I mean, it’s been, since what, 2012?” Edwards asked, looking at the banners behind him, “since we put up a section champs (banner). So, even though we’re co-champs, it’s amazing.”

For Burgettstown coach Megan Zitner, the Blue Devils didn’t match Fort Cherry’s energy. She also felt two big reasons for the loss were straightforward: turnovers and missed shots.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well,” Zitner said. “Our overall shooting percentage wasn’t what it usually is. I don’t know what that is yet, but I know it wasn’t close. You have nights like this. You can’t be on every single night.

“You can’t expect to win when you’re turning the ball over and not shooting well. So, yeah, we had a bad night. We’re going to rebound from this and focus on the next thing and watch some film and learn from our mistakes and be stronger for it. That’s what losses are for is to help you figure out what you need to work on and get better at.”

For Burgettstown (6-1, 10-9), Kaitlyn Nease — another 1,000-point scorer — scored 10 points and Carlee Pennington matched that.

The rest of the team combined for five points.

Fort Cherry controlled almost the whole game as it snapped Burgettstgown’s 20-game section winning streak.

Both teams got off to a slow start, with Fort Cherry leading 5-2 through five minutes.

Fort Cherry picked it up and outscored Burgettstown 10-5 the rest of the quarter, going into the second period with a 15-7 lead.

The Rangers kept it going in the second half, opening on a 9-2 run. Fort Cherry’s defense carried over into the second half, with Burgettstown not cracking 20 points until there was 2:40 left in the third quarter. Burgettstown never got it back to within single digits.