Similar story: West Greene falls to Rochester in finals
West Greene captains (from left) Kaytlynn Walls, Brooke Barner and Jersey Wise accept the WPIAL runner-up trophy after a 71-41 loss to Rochester in the WPIAL Class A championship game. (Photo by Eleanor Bailey)
West Greene无毛视频檚 Kaytlynn Walls saves the ball from going out of bounds against Rochester during Monday无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class A championship game at Peters Township. (Eleanor Bailey)
Eleanor Bailey
Eleanor Bailey
West Greene无毛视频檚 Jersey Wise attempts a shot over Rochester无毛视频檚 Corynne Hauser during Monday无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class A championship game at Peters Township.
Eleanor Bailey
West Greene无毛视频檚 Elizabeth Brudnock looks to shoot against Rochester during the WPIAL Class A championship game at Peters Township on March 15. Brudnock was named to the Greene County Messenger All-Country Girls Basketball First Team.
Rochester's Corynne Hauser (11) attempts to block a shot by West Greene's Jersey Wise (3)聽during Monday's WPIAL Class A championship game at Peters Township.
West Greene无毛视频檚 Jersey Wise drives to the basket against Rochester无毛视频檚 Aleaya Mercier during Monday无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class A championship game at Peters Township. (Photo by Eleanor Bailey)
McMURRAY 无毛视频� This is becoming a habit.
For four consecutive years, West Greene High School无毛视频檚 girls basketball team has overwhelmed opponents in the regular season and early rounds of the playoffs with an aggressive and determined style of play that has worn out all types of foes.
It is a formula for success that worked every year until the WPIAL Class A championship game, when the Pioneers ran into opponents with more high-end talent. The Pioneers played well for stretches in each title game but would have to settle for silver medals instead of gold.
West Greene无毛视频檚 latest runner-up finish came Monday evening when the Pioneers ran into Rochester无毛视频檚 high-scoring trio of Alexis Robison, Corynne Hauser and Makenzie Robison. The trio combined for 62 points in Rochester无毛视频檚 71-41 victory at Peters Township High School无毛视频檚 new gymnasium.
For Rochester (15-3), it is the Rams无毛视频� third consecutive WPIAL championship, all coming against West Greene. And this one was the most impressive.
Rochester clamped down defensively on the Pioneers, holding leading scorer Jersey Wise to only two points and forcing an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers by West Greene in the first half.
无毛视频淲e try to play quality teams in non-section play, but it无毛视频檚 hard to simulate Rochester无毛视频檚 athletic ability in practice,无毛视频� West Greene coach Jordan Watson said. 无毛视频淗auser is a Division I girl. She无毛视频檚 as quick as anyone we无毛视频檝e ever played against. Division I girls don无毛视频檛 grow on trees.无毛视频�
Hauser scored 23 points, many of them on end-to-end driving layups. Her biggest contribution, Rochester coach C.J. Iannini said, came on defense. Hauser played sticky man-to-man defense against Wise as the Rams无毛视频� ball pressure caused all kinds of problems for the Pioneers.
无毛视频淗er defense was phenomenal,无毛视频� Iannini said. 无毛视频淲e gave Corynne the challenge of guarding their leading scorer, who was averaging 17 points per game. We wanted her to hold Wise to half of that.无毛视频�
Alexis Robison led Rochester with 29 points and Makenzie Robison had 10.
Anna Durbin led West Greene (18-4) with 13 points. Elizabeth Brudnock and Brooke Barner each had strong games, scoring 11 points. Barner had a team-high eight rebounds.
Because the PIAA tournament is limited to only district champions this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, West Greene无毛视频檚 season is over. Watson said the Pioneers will miss their three seniors, Wise, Brudnock and Kaytlynn Walls.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 disappointing to get here and lose four in a row, but this is a great senior class,无毛视频� Watson said. 无毛视频淚n 2018, if somebody would have told those three kids that we无毛视频檇 win four section titles, not lose a home game, not lose a section game and get to the WPIAL finals four years in a row, I think they无毛视频檇 take it. It无毛视频檚 disappointing now, but they had great careers.
无毛视频淟ast year, six teams made the state tournament so this game wasn无毛视频檛 an elimination deal. This year, only one team goes and it makes losing harder because it无毛视频檚 the last game. Our girls will be going to softball practice Tuesday.无毛视频�
Rochester started quickly, forging a 6-0 lead before West Greene battled back behind long-range shooting and tied the score at 12-12 in the final minute of the opening quarter. The Rams, however, scored two baskets in the final five seconds to lead 16-12.
无毛视频淭hey did a good job of closing quarters,无毛视频� Watson said. 无毛视频淲e fought back and tied it, then in a blink it was 16-12. Those are daggers when it comes to momentum. It should have been tied after one quarter.无毛视频�
Rochester built the lead to 31-21 at halftime as Alexis Robison had 14 at the break. Barner made a three-pointer from the corner with two seconds left in the half to keep West Greene within striking distance.
Even with all of their turnovers, the Pioneers were thinking comeback because Rochester missed each of its first 17 three-point shots and finished 1-for-19 behind the stripe. West Greene, however, couldn无毛视频檛 fuel enough offense to generate a comeback.
Alexis Robison had nine points in the third quarter and Hauser scored eight as Rochester pushed its lead to 48-33.
无毛视频淲e had too many mental lapses,无毛视频� Brudnock said explaining the turnovers.
无毛视频淭heir ball pressure took away our drives, and our offense is a lot of drive and pitch for an open shot,无毛视频� Wise added.