Mar 12, 2015 4 min read

Many believe the strength of a team’s section does not matter. Wins, points per game and experience are supposedly what separates the elite.

Chartiers-Houston’s girls basketball team has made those points moot. The Bucs (19-9) finished third in Section 3-AA with four losses. After starting the season with a disappointing non-section loss to Brownsville, which did not make the WPIAL playoffs, C-H has eight losses against playoff teams – four each against Seton-La Salle and Bishop Canevin.

The Rebels and Crusaders, who finished first and second in the section, respectively, faced each other in the WPIAL Class AA title game. Both teams advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals.

Though the Bucs lost four games to those two teams by an average of 17.2 points, they have drastically improved since.

Chartiers-Houston completed back-to-back comeback victories over Harbor Creek and Carlynton to advance to the quarterfinals – the furthest the program has gone since 1983.

Oh, and it has succeeded with only two seniors and three freshmen starting and a first-year head coach. Defeating the Cougars Tuesday earned C-H a rematch with Bishop Canevin (18-10) tonight at Moon High School (6 p.m.).

Other colleagues have spoken to Bucs head coach Laura Montecalvo about the tough task of competing in Section 3-AA. Victories are difficult to come by and even if a team continues to improve, finishing ahead of the Rebels and Crusaders is nearly impossible.

Montecalvo views those four losses as invaluable experience. Her young team learned lessons during those defeats that helped erase double-digit deficits in the state playoffs.

“I’ve had other coaches lament to me that it must stink that we’re in that section,” Montecalvo said. “Instead of looking at it as a negative, I’ve told the kids to look at it as a positive. Even though they were losses for us on our schedule, they were actually wins because we made huge gains from competition against the best teams in the state in our own section.”

The results are telling. Chartiers-Houston bounced back from each of those double-digit losses to mount winning streaks. After the loss to Seton-La Salle Feb. 2, the Bucs won six of their last eight games.

Their four victories during the postseason were seen as upsets. Knocking off Bishop Canevin would be the same.

The Crusaders earned impressive wins over four teams that qualified for the state playoffs: Chartiers Valley, Greensburg Central Catholic, Burrell and OLSH. Led by Gina Vallecorsa’s 13.4 points per game, Bishop Canevin plays a suffocating style of defense and was among the top offensive teams in Class AA.

What Bishop Canevin does not possess is a dominant post player or the confidence earned from two stunning state playoff wins. Those are two qualities the Bucs believe could make the difference in the third meeting this season.

Chartiers-Houston freshman center Alexa Williamson is averaging 21.2 points per game, including 44 points in two state playoff victories.

“It’s a surprise. I don’t think they can beat us three times in a row, so I think we have a good chance of beating them,” Williamson said. “It’s a huge deal. I’m so thankful for it.”

Not bad for a team many saw as an afterthought in the section. The Bucs don’t have a Division I point guard like Burrell or the pedigree of Neshannock, but they are one of the Elite Eight in Class AA.

• Monessen (22-8) proved again it can match up against physically imposing competition when it dismantled Portage in the first round of the PIAA Class A playoffs, but tonight will be a different challenge.

The Greyhounds face Kennedy Catholic (23-4), the District 10 champions, at Moon (7:30 p.m. start). The Golden Eagles are led by Sag Konate, a 6-8 junior forward who was reportedly offered a scholarship by Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon.

Konate had 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in Kennedy Christian’s second round victory over Cameron County. Originally from Mali in Africa, Konate has two siblings playing Division I basketball, including his brother Bakaray Konate, a 6-11 freshman center for Minnesota.

The skills of Konate and Monessen’s run-and-gun style will make this an entertaining game to watch.

• During Chartiers-Houston’s first round victory over Harbor Creek, the Huskies’ had a student section of more than 100. It was refreshing to see high school kids show up to support their classmates.

That seems to be the norm in other districts around the state, but the WPIAL’s best student sections are limited to certain schools. Though football season always brings a great crowd, student attendance at basketball games for local schools is down this season.

It’s a disappointing trend. The players feed off the energy.

Lance Lysowski can be reached at llysowski@observer-reporter.com