Mar 25, 2017 4 min read

HERSHEY – The Trinity High School girls basketball team didn’t have the storybook ending to the program’s best season.

The Hillers fell one victory shy of a state championship. The basketball machine that is Archbishop Carroll won its fifth PIAA title in eight years, defeating Trinity, 34-26, Saturday night in the Class 5-A final at the Giant Center.

That the season ended on a losing note should not put a damper on the Hillers’ remarkable run. They went where no other Washington County girls basketball team has gone. Trinity made it all way the way to Hershey – Chocolate Town, the site of the PIAA Championships. Though Trinity fell one victory and nine points shy of the program’s first state championship, there is no denying this was truly a sweet season.

The Hillers were so good that they were the last Class 5-A public-school girls basketball team still playing in the state. That’s quite an accomplishment. Of the 24 teams – boys and girls – that advanced to Hershey, Trinity was one of just eight public schools, so you know it wasn’t easy. To get here, the Hillers beat one Philadelphia Catholic School team (Archbishop Carroll), and avenged a WPIAL semifinal loss to Chartiers Valley.

Beating two premiere Philadelphia Catholic League opponents – also known as Schools Without Borders – in the same season was asking a little too much from the talented Hillers.

“If you would have told me before the season that our final game would be played in this building,” Trinity coach Bob Miles said, “I would have told you that I think we can and that we will try. I think we did just that. Before this game, we were 26-3 and lost on a last shot to Bethel Park, and at Wheeling Park, where there were questionable things that happened. We also lost to Chartiers Valley in an unusual set of circumstances.”

The loss to Archbishop Wood was one the Hillers will recall for missed opportunities. The Hillers’ defense was championship caliber. The offense, however, never got going against the Vikings’ suffocating man-to-man defense.

“We weren’t intimidated,” Miles said proudly. “And when we fell behind early it would have been easy to pack it in, but they didn’t. They played hard to the end.”

For that, the Hillers should be proud.

This was a team with a superstar and a talented supporting cast. Each player had their moments in the spotlight.

Senior guard Sierra Kotchman showed why she is one of the best players ever to come out of Washington County. The Fairmont State recruit finished her outstanding high school career with 1,706 points and nobody who saw it will soon forget her 30-point, seven three-pointer performance against South Fayette in the PIAA semifinals.

Alayna Cappelli provided Trinity with a second scoring threat and ball-handler in the backcourt. Rachel Lemons simply got better every day and delivered in the clutch with a 12-point game against South Fayette.

Abbey O’Connor was consistent, reliable and tough, though she often played against taller opponents. Riley DeRubbo, the freshman who doesn’t play like a freshman, has a bright future and played a fine game against Archbishop Wood, scoring a game-high 13 points.

Reserves like Jayme Britton and Allie Scarfo were key contributors all season and, along with Cappelli and DeRubbo, give Trinity some solid building blocks for what could be another good season in 2018-19.

Together, these Hillers put together a season that future teams from Washington County will be compared to. One thing all those other teams won’t be able to say, that the Hillers will, is that they were the first to make it to Hershey.

Sports editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com.