Hillers weather early storm for historic win
Trinity players Morgan Pacconi, Allie Scarfo and Sarah Hardy celebrate as the final seconds tick away during a 61-51 victory against South Fayette.
Trinity’s Jayme Britton and Riley DeRubbo tie up South Fayette’s Carlee Kilgus in a battle for the basketball during PIAA 5-A girls’ basketball semifinal action. The Hillers defeated the Lions, 61-51, to earn their first trip to Hershey to compete in the state championship game set for 6 p.m. March 25 at the Giant Center.
McMURRAY – One of the strengths of the Trinity High School girls basketball team is the Hillers’ ability to remain on an even keel. Whether they’re playing in a state playoff game or a summer league contest at the Brownson House against a winless team, the Hillers don’t let their opponents see their emotions.
Yet, with seven seconds remaining in Trinity’s PIAA Class 5-A semifinal game Tuesday night against South Fayette, Alayna Cappelli couldn’t help herself.
The Hillers’ junior point guard stood at midcourt and cracked a wide smile while accepting a congratulatory high-five from teammate Abbey O’Connor.
Meanwhile, under the basket, freshman Riley DeRubbo looked across the lane, grinned and gave a clap of approval to fellow forward Rachel Lemons.
Sierra Kotchman, Trinity’s standout senior guard, waited until the final buzzer sounded and the postgame handshakes were done before allowing herself a moment to celebrate. She raised her arm in triumph and smiled wide, just before she and her teammates were swarmed by the onrushing Trinity student section.
When you do something no other girls basketball team from Washington County has done, even the most focused basketball players smile.
Kotchman scored a game-high 30 points, which included seven three-point field goals, and Trinity rallied with an impressive second half to defeat South Fayette 61-51 before a standing-room-only crowd at Peters Township High School.
The win sends Trinity (26-3) to the PIAA finals Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey against District 12 champion Archbishop Wood (23-7), last year’s Class AAA champion. Archbishop Wood defeated District 3 champion Susquehannock 56-41 in the other 5-A semifinal. The title game will tip off at 6 p.m.
Trinity will be the first girls basketball team from Washington County to play for a PIAA championship.
“I didn’t know that,” Trinity coach Bob Miles said. “That’s a good sign and speaks volumes for Washington County basketball.”
It was a good sign for Trinity that Kotchman seemingly couldn’t miss a shot, that Cappelli, the Hillers’ smallest starter, ran the offense with precision and had a grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, and that role players such as Lemons, DeRubbo and O’Connor each delivered in the biggest game of the season. In other words, the Hillers got contributions from everybody who entered the game.
But it was Kotchman who made the difference. She helped the Hillers erase a 10-point first-half deficit and finally pushed Trinity into the lead late in the third quarter. She scored 25 of her points over the final three quarters.
“I feel like we had a good game plan defensively, but the kid just kept making shots,” South Fayette coach Matt Bacco said. “I’m going to look at the tape to see if she missed one because it seemed like she didn’t miss a shot. A performance like that is why they’re getting on a bus and going to Hershey.”
South Fayette could not have drawn up a better start to the game. The Lions made their first five shots, including a banked-in three-pointer by Maura Castelluci, and led 12-2 as Trinity called a timeout only 2:11 into the first quarter.
Trinity closed to within 15-12 after one quarter but the Hillers had trouble keeping South Fayette from driving the ball into the lane. When Trinity did force South Fayette to play on the perimeter, the Lions had success shooting from long range. South Fayette was 4-for-10 from behind the arc in the first half and led 32-28 at halftime.
“We talked at halftime about stopping them from getting to the lane. We had to stop from at the foul line extended,” Miles said. “We also had to penetrate and kick it out for a three or get to the free-throw line.”
The Hillers followed the plan to perfection. They held South Fayette to seven points in the third quarter and only three field goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
Trinity took its first lead at 37-36 when Jayme Britton made a free throw, and a three-pointer by Cappelli put the Hillers in front for good at 40-38 with 25 seconds left in the third quarter.
The biggest basket of the game came as the quarter ended. South Fayette’s Carlee Kilgus made a free throw with three seconds left and Trinity quickly inbounded the ball to Kotchman, who raced upcourt along the left sideline. She leaned into an opponent and threw up a 25-footer that went in as time expired and gave Trinity a 43-39 lead and deflated South Fayette.
Kotchman added another three-pointer 30 seconds into the fourth quarter and South Fayette never got closer than five points (51-46) the rest of the way.
Jordyn Caputo led South Fayette with 16 points but she was held to only five in the second half as the Lions’ youth – they have only one senior on the roster – showed. Maddie Gutierrez had 11 points and Kilgus 10.
Lemons joined Kotchman in double figures for Trinity with 12 points. But Kotchman’s remarkable performance was the difference.
“She didn’t want her season to end,” Miles said. “When we lost to Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL semifinals and she didn’t score, the kid was crushed. She put the blame on herself. Since then, she has been determined not to let the season end.”
The Hillers now know the season will conclude Saturday night with a game on the biggest stage Pennsylvania high school basketball has to offer.
“We’ve been working on this for four years. It’s going to be amazing,” Kotchman said.