Mar 10, 2017 3 min read

FARRELL – Washington’s defense stood strong for three quarters, but District 10 champion West Middlesex closed the game on a 19-5 run to defeat the Prexies, 43-32, in a PIAA Class AA high school girls playoff game Friday night at Farrell High School.

Washington (13-12) led 8-6 after one quarter and 19-16 at the half, maintaining that three-point advantage going into the fourth quarter.

But the Big Reds got six points apiece from Mackenzie Mackay, Allie Staunch and Delaney Dogan while limiting the Prexies to just five points in the final eight minutes to pull away.

Mackay scored 16 points and Dogan 14 for West Middlesex (21-5), which advances to play Bishop Guilfoyle, a 52-45 winner over Kane, in the second round.

Freshman Tamia Russell’s nine points led Washington, which has just one junior and no seniors on its roster.

Bishop McCort 60, California 17: Haley Thomas scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the first quarter and Bishop McCort closed the first half with a 14-0 run that sparked the Crimson Crushers to a 60-17 victory over California in a PIAA Class AA girls basketball first-round playoff game Friday night at Johnstown High School.

Bishop McCort (22-4), the District 6 champion, broke open a close game in the second quarter and used its defense to hold California (20-5) to no more than five points in each quarter.

Thomas, a senior guard who is Bishop McCort’s all-time leading scorer, made three three-point field goals in the first quarter, which ended with Bishop McCort leading 12-5. California closed to within 14-9 early in the second quarter, but the Crimson Crushers scored the game’s 23 points, a streak that spanned each half.

“We ran into a buzzsaw,” Californias coach Chris Minerd said. “They did everything they needed to do to win and we didn’t.”

California had 32 turnovers, many coming in their half-court offense as Bishop McCort mixed a zone defense with man-to-man, preventing the Trojans from setting an offensive rhythm.

“The turnovers came because we were too tentative,” Minerd said. “When they played us man-to-man, we didn’t set screens. When they played zone, we just passed the ball around the perimeter.”

California didn’t help its cause with a miserable night at the free-throw line, missing 14 of its first 15 attempts and finishing the game 2-for-16.

It seemed like a cruel way to end what was a very good season for California, which was in the PIAA tournament for the third time in four years.

“This far exceeded my expectations,” Minerd said. “If you would have asked me at the beginning of the season how many games we would win, I would have never said 20.”

Machala Gibbons scored 12 points for Bishop McCort.

Bailey Vig and Jenna Miller each scored six points for Cal. Miller also grabbed a team-high five rebounds.