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Gazi’s double-double leads Charleroi to 49-35 win

By Bill Hughes for The 3 min read
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Darnell Graham

CharleroiëƵs Cierra Gazi (40) takes the ball to the basket around Beth-CenterëƵs Elizabeth Trump (20) and Jen Zelenick (24) during MondayëƵs Section 2-AAA game at Charleroi High School.

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Darnell Graham

Beth-CenterëƵs Maddy Hunyady (11) and CharleroiëƵs Cierra Gazi (40) battle for a rebound during MondayëƵs Section 2-AAA game at Charleroi High School.

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Darnell Graham

CharleroiëƵs Bella Skobel (12) hits a shot in front of Beth-CenterëƵs Oliva Greco (3) and Jen Zelenick (24) during Monday nightëƵs game at Charleroi High School. Skobel scored 14 points in the Lady CougarsëƵ 49-35 win.

FALLOWFIELD TWP. ëƵ Senior Cierra Gazi finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks to pace Charleroi to a 49-35 Section 2-AAA win over Beth-Center Monday night.

Charleroi coach Bill Wagner praised GaziëƵs performance, while noting the impact of the Lady Cougars opening the game on a 16-2 run.

ëƵCierra can score, did a good job of that tonight and hit the boards for us,ëƵ he said. ëƵThat early run was the catalyst and we were able to make them play from behind.

ëƵOur girls played great defense and stuck to our game plan.ëƵ

ëƵWe dug ourselves a hole in the first couple of minutes,ëƵ said Beth-Center coach Steve Beyer. ëƵWe had some looks, but missed shots and Charleroi played well with the lead.

ëƵSecond-chance points killed us and that is disappointing because we are a good rebounding team.ëƵ

Gazi scored nine points in the first quarter to pace Charleroi, but a steal and layup just before the buzzer by Olivia Greco seemed to give the Lady Bulldogs some life.

GrecoëƵs basket started a 9-2 run for Beth-Center, but Charleroi (4-2, 8-5) still held a 24-12 lead going into halftime.

The Lady Bulldogs (2-4, 6-5) appeared to grab the momentum in the third quarter after they went on a 9-0 run to trim the Charleroi lead to 29-28 in the closing seconds of the frame, but Kaitlin Wagner hit a buzzer-beater to give the hosts a 31-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The basket was the start of a personal six-point stretch by Wagner that a sparked a 14-2 run by Charleroi to put the game away.

ëƵWe took a timeout to settle the girls down after they went on that run,ëƵ coach Wagner said. ëƵOnce we got back into our sets, we were able to put the ball in the basket.ëƵ

Beyer was happy with how his team played in the third quarter

ëƵWe played well in the third, but couldnëƵt pull it out,ëƵ he said. ëƵBut like I told the girls after the game, we have played Charleroi once and lost.

ëƵWe have to beat them the second time and we know what we have to do in the second half of the season.ëƵ

Gazi, who entered the game averaging 7.5 points per game, was joined in double figures by Bella Skobel (14) and Wagner (10), while Anna Sloan and Maddy Hunyady shared honors for Beth-Center with 10 points each.

Charleroi heads to Brownsville for a section makeup game Wednesday and then hosts Waynesburg Central in section play Thursday. Beth-Center hosts Seton-LaSalle in a section game on Thursday.

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