Stunning: Charleroi upended in first round by A-R
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Charleroi’s Sierra Short is in tears as the buzzer sounds Wednesday after losing to Apollo-Ridge in the WPIAL Class AAA first-round playoff game at Peters Township High School.
Charleroi’s assistant coach Rick Puskar give the team instructions during a time out aginst Apollo-Ridge in the WPIAL class AAA first-round playoff game at Peters Township High School on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018.
Charleroi’s Sierra Short fights with Apollo-Ridge’s Elizabeth Penrose for the rebound during the WPIAL class AAA first-round playoff game at Peters Township High School on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Charleroi’s Kaitlyn Riley’s shot is block by Apollo-Ridge’s Madalyn Moore during the WPIAL Class AAA first-round playoff game at Peters Township High School Wednesday.
Charleroi’s Maria Claybaugh makes a shot as Apollo-Ridge’s Morgan Gamble tries to block during the WPIAL class AAA first-round playoff game at Peters Township High School on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018.
McMURRAY – The WPIAL basketball playoffs are here and they are causing their usual mayhem. Teams, such as the Charleroi girls, that have spent months, and sometimes years, winning big are left to figure out how things can go so wrong so quickly.
Charleroi, a senior-laden team that advanced to the state playoffs last year and rolled to 19 regular-season wins this winter, had a bad shooting night and was unable to set a tempo it could live with in a first-round playoff game Wednesday night at Peters Township High School.
As a result, the sixth-seeded Cougars were dealt a stunning, 47-35, setback by Apollo-Ridge, a team that entered the postseason with a less-than-imposing 10-12 record and riding a five-game losing streak.
“It was a brutal game, from start to finish,” Charleroi coach Kevin Lee said.
The Cougars (19-4) never led, trailed by double-digits in each of the first two quarters and ran out of steam after rallying to tie the score at 29-29 with 5:05 remaining. It was a foul way to end a season of so much promise for Charleroi. With a starting lineup that includes five seniors, the Cougars lost only three regular-season games, two to undefeated and second-seeded East Allegheny and the other a one-point setback at Ringgold, a Class 5A playoff qualifier.
“This senior group made its own history,” Lee said. “It’s probably the winningest three- or four-year period in school history. This group has won a couple of playoff games, made it to the state playoffs. This was a good run by this crew but it can end so suddenly.”
The run was ended in large part by a relic of a gimmick defense – a triangle-and-two – and a patient offense, each utilized to their fullest by Apollo-Ridge (11-12), which advances to the quarterfinals Saturday against fourth-seeded Neshannock (19-3).
Apollo-Ridge’s triangle-and-two defense held Charleroi to only three field goals in the first half and five through the first three quarters. The Cougars averaged 56.4 points per game in the regular season, but with the exception of a three-minute stretch in the fourth quarter was unable to quicken the pace against the deliberate Vikings, who were adept at slowing the tempo to that of your average chess match.
“We were not able to get any rhythm,” Lee said. “They had a great game plan with the triangle-and-two.”
It was a defense that Charleroi’s faced in its final two regular-season games – both wins – but Apollo-Ridge did a better job with its version of the unusual defense – two defenders playing man-to-man and three playing zone – that was designed to slow the Cougars’ Maria Claybaugh and Kaitlyn Riley.
“We wanted to limit the touches (Claybaugh) and (Riley) had,” Apollo-Ridge coach Jim Callipare explained. “They’re both outstanding players. I think we frustrated them a little. When they weren’t getting touches, they got out of rhythm.”
Apollo-Ridge led 14-4 after one quarter and 21-11 in the second quarter before Claybaugh scored the final three points of the half to trim the Vikings’ lead to 21-14.
Claybaugh was held to only six points. Riley did plenty to keep Charleroi within striking distance as she had team-highs of 13 points and 12 rebounds. She also caused plenty of havoc in Charleroi’s full-court press as Apollo-Ridge committed 24 turnovers. The problem for the Cougars was they didn’t make many shots and you can’t press if you don’t score.
Apollo-Ridge led 29-21 before Charleroi opened the fourth quarter by scoring eight straight points to pull even. Riley had a basket off an offensive rebound and scored on a layup following a steal by Aislyn Lee. Sierra Short worked the offensive boards for a basket and Lee made a 19-foot jumper that made it 29-29.
The momentum was clearly on Charleroi’s side at that point but Apollo-Ridge didn’t buckle. The Vikings used their superior size to regain the lead and protected it by making 12 of 15 free throws in the fourth quarter. On two of the missed free throws, the Vikings were able to grab the offensive rebound.
“I’m proud of the way our kids withstood the storm in the second half,” Callipare said. “We knew Charleroi was going to make a run.”
Madalyn Moore led Apollo-Ridge with 14 points and Megan Ost had 12 points and nine rebounds. Moore and Ost combined for 13 points in the pivotal fourth quarter.