Trest leads C-M to first WPIAL playoff victory
Canon-McMillan’s Cheyenne Trest Trest leads the Big Macs on a fast break Wednesday against Fox Chapel.
Canon-McMillan’s Cheyenne Trest scored 27 points, including the game-winning basket with under seven seconds to play Wednesday, to lead the Big Macs to a victory over Fox Chapel.
Canon-McMillan’s Kierra King drives to the basket Wednesday against Fox Chapel.
Canon-McMillan’s Kierra King drives Wednesday through the Fox Chapel defense.
Canon-McMillan’s Becca Turney lofts a left-handed hook shot towards the basket while being defended Wednesday by Fox Chapel’s Sarah Supsura (3) and Taylor Cohen (23).
PITTSBURGH – Cheyenne Trest may only stand at 5-7, but the Canon-McMillan junior guard isn’t afraid to drive through multiple defenders for a layup.
When she drove past Fox Chapel’s Gabby Bradway for a layup midway through the first quarter, Trest found her game plan against a stingy defense focused on stopping Big Macs center Becca Turney.
It was her driving through multiple defenders with a reckless abandon that helped Canon-McMillan’s girls basketball team make history Wednesday night.
Trest made a game-winning layup with 6.8 seconds remaining and Fox Chapel’s final shot at the buzzer fell short as the sixth-seeded Big Macs defeated the Foxes 51-49 at Baldwin High School in a WPIAL Class AAAA first-round playoff game.
It was the first playoff win in program history for Canon-McMillan (15-7), which advanced to the quarterfinals to face third-seeded Penn Hills Friday at a site and time to be determined. The Big Macs also clinched at least a spot in the PIAA play-in bracket.
“We’re making history,” Canon-McMillan head coach Lou Waller said.
“Every game we win, we’re making history. The program has never won a playoff game. We got one and we have three more to go.”
With the Foxes (13-9) collapsing the lane to stop Turney, an Eastern Michigan recruit, Trest scored 27 points, including 14 in the second half with most coming while driving against multiple defenders. Though she made 10 field goals, the last was the sweetest after she committed a costly turnover moments earlier.
Her errant pass from the left wing with 50 seconds remaining was caught by Taylor Cohen, who converted with a fast-break layup to tie the score, 49-49.
On the next possession, Canon-McMillan junior guard Kierra King drove to the lane and passed to Turney on the baseline, who drove toward the basket, twisting awkwardly to send a shot in for the lead.
Fox Chapel’s Kayla Slovenec, who scored a team-high 11 points, took the ensuing inbound passed and quickly fired it down court to Cohen, whose short baseline jumper hit the rim at the buzzer to end the game.
“After I threw the ball away and it was a tie game again, all year, we’ve been saying don’t panic, so I just wanted the ball,” Trest said. “I wanted the ball in my hands to try to finish the game off and my teammates did a great job getting it to me.”
Canon-McMillan made a concerted effort to get the ball down low to Turney, but the Foxes smothered here every time she caught a pass in the lane. The turnovers added up for the Big Macs, who had 12 in the middle quarters, when they only had 17 points.
With King and sophomore Taylor Waller in foul trouble early, the Big Macs had trouble defending and Fox Chapel’s offense began to excel in the third quarter. Sarah Supsura’s three-pointer gave the Foxes a 38-33 lead and their leading scorer, Gabby Badway, who was held to just nine points, made one of two free throws to give FC a three-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Big Mac grabbed the lead again when Lindsay Beach, who chipped in six points off the bench, made two free throws, but Fox Chapel, which spread Canon-McMillan’s defense out to draw Turney away from the post, made back-to-back three-pointers.
Led by Trest, the Big Macs went on a 7-0 run and she scored their final six points to help C-M grab the win. Though Fox Chapel limited Turney to nine points and eight rebounds, Fox Chapel couldn’t find an answer for Trest.
“Trest is an outstanding player,” Fox Chapel head coach Jenn O’Shea said. “We’ve seen a lot of film, but seeing her in person, it’s definitely a lot different. I was impressed with her skills.”
She scored 13 points in the first half to help Canon-McMillan grab a three-point lead at halftime and Canon-McMillan’s stingydefense, which switched from man to its 1-3-1 throughout the night, made the stop at the end.
“It’s all about defense. We made a big stop at the end,” Waller said. “They had a shot and we defended it and made it difficult. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls.”