Extra motivation leads West Greene to playoff win, state playoff berth
West Greene’s head coach Jordan Watson yells out instructions during the Pioneers' WPIAL Class A playoff game against Rochester Friday night at Canon-McMillan High School.
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Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s Madison Lampe battles Rochester’s Olivia Whiteleather for possession of the ball in Friday’s WPIAL Class A quarterfinal playoff game at Canon-McMillan High School.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s Ashley Cumberledge goes up for a shot past Rochester’s Jasmins Mack in the Friday’s WPIAL Class A quarterfinals at Canon-McMillan High School.
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CANONSBURG – The West Greene girls basketball team knows the rest of the WPIAL doubts the Pioneers.
It’s not just a West Greene thing – it’s a Greene County thing. Many doubt them, for good reasons. The Pioneers play in a very weak section, and a Greene County girls basketball team has never won a WPIAL championship.
With the second-seeded Pioneers hoping to bring Greene County its first WPIAL title, a recent article in a Pittsburgh newspaper questioned whether the Pioneers’ exceptional full-court press defense would be “as effective against good teams in the playoffs.”
West Greene head coach Jordan Watson said that comment “motivated” his team to force 31 turnovers in a 73-43 win over seventh-seeded Rochester Friday night in the Class A quarterfinals at Canon-McMillan High School.
Jacob Calvin Meyer
Staff writer
jmeyer@observer-reporter.com
Madison and McKenna Lampe on West Greene’s win over Rochester. The twins combined for 43 points to lead the Pioneers to a WPIAL Class A quarterfinal win and a PIAA playoff berth.
“I think it motivated the girls that they read in that the ‘Pioneers force 39 turnovers a game, but it’s in Greene County and will it work against quality opponents or some team up north?'” Watson said. “We know that if we pressure the ball and force the (other team’s) weak hand, we can turn anyone over.”
The win gives West Greene (21-2) its second straight PIAA tournament berth. The Pioneers will take on No. 3-seeded Quigley Catholic (15-8) in the semifinals Tuesday.
“It’s really nice to make it back to back,” said McKenna Lampe, who led all scorers with 25 points. “That was our goal. We’ve worked hard. It’s very exciting.”
Along with forcing 31 turnovers, Watson said his team was successful in taking away Rochester’s best players, Olivia Whiteleather and Jasmine Mack.
“We did a really good job on those girls,” Watson said. “Mack only had four points and (Whiteleather) had zero points, so right there was your game, pretty much. We held two of their three best players to four points.”
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s McKenna Lampe takes a shot in front of Rochester’s Lydia Bable during Friday’s WPIAL Class A quarterfinals playoff game at Canon-McMillan High School.
In a game that was a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals, which West Greene won 51-37, the Pioneers weren’t sharp in the first quarter. Entering the matchup off a bye and an 11-day hiatus, the Pioneers struggled making shots, and the Pioneers’ press defense wasn’t resulting in as many turnovers as usual.
The Pioneers sped up in the second quarter, though, as Madison Lampe, who scored 18 points in the game, and McKenna Lampe combined for 13 of West Greene’s 19 points in the quarter, most of which came off the nine turnovers the Pioneers forced. West Greene held Rochester (13-8) to seven points in the quarter to enter halftime with a 31-18 lead.
“(Madison and McKenna) were great. … Rochester didn’t have anyone who could guard McKenna. Whoever they put on her, it didn’t matter. She has too much speed,” Watson said. “They’re such good shooters, too, that if you play off them, they’ll bury their shots. I thought they did a good job of taking what the defense gave them.”
While the Lampe twins continued to use their speed to score a combined 24 points in the second half dictate the game’s pace – which was too fast for Rochester – they weren’t the only contributors for West Greene.
As the Pioneers saw their lead balloon to 24 points, junior guard Kaitlyn Rizor and freshman guard Jersey Wise played key roles for Watson’s press defense, creating turnovers and making layups in transition. Rizor and Wise scored 12 and eight points, respectively.
“(Rizor is) such a big factor, because she played point guard last year,” Watson said. “Now she’s playing the 4 (forward), so when she gets the rebound or a steal, she becomes the point guard. She’s a 4 in number, but she does it all.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s Jersey Wise takes a shot during Friday’s WPIAL Class A playoff game against Rochester.
“We love having Jersey come off the bench to provide that energy,” Watson said. “She comes in there like a house of fire, and she’s flying around.”
West Greene scored 19 points in the fourth quarter to give the Pioneers three straight quarters with 19-plus points to cap off the 30-point victory.
West Greene is the only public school left in the Class A playoffs, joining Winchester Thurston, Sewickley Academy and Quigley.
“The expectations were to make it back to states and back to the semifinals,” Watson said. “Hopefully, we get a better result this year.”