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Trinity outlasts North Allegheny’s effort

5 min read

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Any time Trinity is in danger of losing a game, it’s an event.

True, the Hillers fell to Norwin early on, and had quite a challenge Jan. 23, when they ended Chartiers Valley’s state record 64-game win streak.

Aside from that, however, the No. 1 team in WPIAL Class 5A has breezed through its schedule, and came into Saturday’s bout with North Allegheny having won their last two games by 77 and 71 points, respectively.

But playing against the top-ranked team in Class 6A is never going to be easy, especially when that team is 17-0.

The battle of No. 1s didn’t disappoint.

At the end of the day, Trinity powered through to beat the Tigers, 59-56.

With the playoffs looming, it was the type of challenge both coaches – North Allegheny’s Spencer Stefko and Trinity’s Kathy McConnell-Miller – wanted.

“There were stretches in the game where they just out-everything’d us, and that’s what we came here for,” Stefko said. “Now it’s time to go get better.”

“There were some great players on the floor tonight, and they made some great plays,” McConnell-Miller said. “I just think it was a really good matchup for both teams at this point in the season.”

There was a time when it looked like Trinity (15-1) might cruise. The Hillers closed the first half on a 20-9 run and went into halftime up 33-23.

But North Allegheny (17-1) got it together, and behind 12 third quarter points from Paige Morningstar, led by one going into the final period.

For McConnell-Miller, the key to bouncing back in the fourth quarter was held by defensive execution.

“We needed to get some stops in order to get some scores, and I thought once we put a couple of them back-to-back-to-back, then things kind of loosened up for us a little bit,” she said.

The Hillers picked up the necessary stops, and just as important, had clutch shooting from Alyssa Clutter.

The brightest star of the afternoon scored a career-high 23 points, and her day paralleled that of the team in general. She was hot in the first half, with 15 points, cold in the third quarter, with just two, and down the stretch, she delivered.

With the game tied 45-45 just around the five-minute mark, Clutter hit a three to put the Hillers ahead.

Roughly a minute later, with Trinity leading 48-47, the junior drained another three ball to make it a two-possession game.

“I kept taking pull-up jumpers, and I realized what wasn’t working for me,” Clutter said. “Then I decided to spot up, and my teammates were getting me the ball, and that’s what kept it going for me.”

Though Stefko said North Allegheny’s defense didn’t make it easy for Clutter, she still found a variety of ways to hurt the Tigers

“She was incredible,” Stefko said. “Every time we left her (open), she made us pay, and that didn’t just pay off in the points, but in some other aspects of the game. … There were stretches where we were trying to stay connected to her, and that opened up some other things for them. So a ton of credit to that kid, and a ton of credit to her teammates who did a great job finding her every time we left her (open).”

As usual, Courtney Dahlquist, also had a productive night offensively for Trinity, scoring 17 points including four foul shots in the final 11 seconds.

North Allegheny made a final push with five seconds left. The Tigers’ only option was the shoot a three-pointer. Knowing what was coming, Trinity’s defense was ready for Jasmine Timmerson’s shot. It didn’t fall, and overtime wouldn’t be needed.

“That’s never going to be an easy shot,” Stefko said. “Credit to Jas for finding a way to squeeze something off. They did a great job defending that.”

Morningstar led NA’s scoring with 16 points. Lizzy Goretsch added 13.

Also for the Tigers, Kellie McConnell, the niece of McConnell-Miller and Suzie McConnell-Serio, started as a freshman, scoring four points Saturday. With McConnell-Serio in attendance, it was the second time McConnell-Miller has had to go against a member of her family, the first being that game against Chartiers Valley when the Hillers ended brother Tim’s win streak.

“It’s happening way too often,” McConnell-Miller said. “My heart is with Kellie. I just love and respect her as a freshman what she’s doing and how she’s making her team better. The last thing I ever want for her is to not be successful and lose. Obviously, I care and am passionate about our girls and their success, but it breaks my heart every time a McConnell doesn’t have success.”

Though the Hillers certainly don’t want to slack off in any of their final three regular season games, the first of which is at Thomas Jefferson Monday night at 7:30, it would be a surprise for Trinity to have a setback before the postseason.

North Allegheny, on the contrary, goes from playing Trinity to playing the only team that’s beaten Trinity. The Tigers will be at Norwin Monday night.

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