Feb 22, 2016 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – Only three minutes into the second half and Chartiers-Houston’s girls head basketball coach Laura Montecalvo knew the Bucs were in trouble.

An 8-2 Neshannock run coming out of halftime extended a lead that it would never surrender as the Lancers outscored Chartiers-Houston, 26-13, to beat the uninspired Bucs, 44-31, Monday night in a PIAA Class AA play-in game at Keystone Oaks High School.

Chartiers-Houston will have another opportunity to advance to the state playoffs Thursday night against Riverside at a site and time to be determined.

But they’ll need to have a quick turnaround after losing their past two games, including in the WPIAL playoffs Friday night.

“My kids just didn’t come out with any fire,” said Montecalvo. “I’m not sure why but the passion we usually play with just was not there.”

Neshannock played in a similar fashion in the first half before coming alive in the final two quarters.

“Uncharacteristic,” said Neshannock head coach Luca Grybowski about the Lancers’ performance. “We lost a close game Friday, one that we thought we could have pulled out. They are young, they do want to keep playing, but the only way you can do that is to win.”

While the passion might have been left at home for both teams, there were plenty of mistakes to go around on both sides.

Despite falling behind 7-0 while failing to record a shot in the first three minutes, Neshannock (20-4) took a 19-18 lead into halftime after the two teams combined for 27 first-half turnovers.

“We are only averaging about 12 turnovers per game,” said Grybowski. “A lot of our turnovers occurred because we did not recognize what defense (Chartiers-Houston) was in.”

It was a one-point lead that the Lancers would extend immediately in the first three minutes of the third quarter to go ahead 37-28, an advantage Neshannock would not to surrender the rest of the game.

“It was a one-point game and anybody’s ballgame,” said Montecalvo. “At that point, we thought we had a legitimate chance. The first three minutes of the second half mean everything, and we blew it. We came out and played just as flat as we did in the first half.”

The halftime message from Grybowski must have hit home as the Lancers committed just two second-half turnovers.

Not only did turnovers (19) hurt Chartiers-Houston but failing to put the ball in the hoop was also a problem. The Bucs made only 12 of 41 shots from the field and shot a woeful 41 percent from the free-throw line.

“We can’t convert from the foul line, and it has been a problem all year,” said Montecalvo. “It played into costing us the game.”

Bella Burrelli scored a team-high 15 points for Neshannock and was the only Lancer to reach double digits.

“I just made the transition of making her a starter,” said Grybowski. “About seven or eight games ago she got into the starting lineup and she has never relinquished that role. She is always all over the court and did a great job tonight.”

Jala Walker led Chartiers-Houston (17-8) with a game-high 19 points. But the Bucs also failed to get much secondary scoring, as Keaira Walker was next on the team with five points while grabbing 10 rebounds in limited action because of foul trouble.

“The major missing piece tonight was passion,” said Montecalvo. “We didn’t play all out or hustle. It is time to rise up to the occasion.”