Feb 9, 2018 4 min read

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MONONGAHELA – Alayna Cappelli’s big night didn’t start the way she wanted.

Entering Trinity’s game at Ringgold Thursday night, the senior was 10 points away from 1,000 in her career, and the Hillers were one win away from claiming back-to-back Class 5A Section 3 titles.

The Hillers were losing early in the second quarter, and Cappelli’s nerves caused her shot, both from behind the three-point arc and the charity stripe, to be off.

After scoring only three points in the first half, Cappelli buckled down in the second half, scoring 11 points, all from the free-throw line, to score her 1,000th career point and lead the Hillers to a 48-34 win over Ringgold and secure the section crown.

“It’s just such a big accomplishment, and it was one of my goals,” Cappelli said. “But the main goal was to be section champs with the team. (Scoring) 1,000 points was in the back of my mind, obviously, but I’m so glad that I finally made it. The pressure is off, and I’m done thinking about it.”

Cappelli, a 5-5 point guard, has started at Trinity since her freshman season. Trinity head coach Bob Miles said having her is like having a second coach on the floor.

“She has played a major role in our success,” Miles said. “She sees things on the floor that we don’t always see over here on the bench, and she’s allowed to make (play) calls. What does she mean to the program? Direction, leadership (and) a good solid teammate.”

Miles said Cappelli’s experience is a cog for a Hillers team that is hoping to go to back-to-back PIAA championship games.

“Her experience is extremely important,” Miles said. “She’s played in a WPIAL championship game, and she’s played in a state championship game. That experience is huge, and that trickles down to the other kids.”

At 998 career points with about three minutes left in the game, Cappelli was fouled and was going to the line to take two shots. The large Trinity fan section for the road game instantly started cheering, as if they knew Cappelli would nail both shots. Once she did, the entire fan section started waving large cutouts of Cappelli’s face.

“I was so surprised. I didn’t know about the big portrait of me or the fatheads,” Cappelli said. “They make this possible. I couldn’t have done this without my teammates, my coaches and the fans. They’re all great, and I give them all the credit as well.”

Despite the double-digit win for Trinity (12-0, 18-3), the game was nothing but easy in the first quarter.

With made baskets at a premium early, the Hillers led 8-7 after the first quarter.

Ringgold (10-2, 16-6) took the lead 9-8 early in the second quarter, before the Hillers ended the half on a 10-0 run, holding the Rams to only two points in the second quarter.

“I was really proud of how the girls executed and how they came out ready to go,” said Ringgold head coach Erika McCarthy. “We usually come out pretty strong. It’s just maintaining that and playing a whole game. We’ve only had a few games this year when we were able to do that. So with playoffs next on the list, we’ve really got to work on that.”

In the second half, 15 of Trinity’s 30 points came from the free-throw line, as the Hillers attempted 18 more foul shots than the Rams in the game.

While Thursday night wasn’t the best scoring night for Trinity’s top scorer Riley DeRubbo, the sophomore played a complete game. To go along with her 12 points, DeRubbo grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots.

“We talked before the game about how everybody had to do the little things,” Miles said. “We told Riley to play her game, penetrate, pass, score and play good defense. She did all of that, and she rebounded pretty well tonight too.”

While easy baskets were few and far between, most of them for Trinity came from senior Jayme Britton, who scored 10 points, all on layups on fast breaks or on bounce passes underneath the hoop.

“I think she’s deceiving,” Miles said. “I think people forget about her because they spend so much time worrying about Alayna and Riley.”

Cappelli said the win was important for the Hillers, who are hoping to make another deep playoff run.

“We knew coming down here was going to be a tough battle for us,” she said. “Ringgold is a great team in our section. We knew how important this game was for us and for them…There was nothing better to prepare us for the playoffs than this type of game.”