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Waynesburg claims first section title since 1986

By Rob Burchianti rburchianti@heraldstandard.Com 5 min read
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HILLER ëƵ Dave Sarra found himself in a bit of a predicament Thursday night.

The Waynesburg Central girls basketball coach was wearing a soaked shirt on what was a frigid night.

ëƵYeah, I got a Gatorade shower,ëƵ Sarra said. ëƵIt was more of a Gatorade water bottle bath.ëƵ

The Lady Raiders were in a celebratory mood after defeating Brownsville, 62-34, to clinch a share of the Section 2-AAA championship.

Who could blame them? It was WaynesburgëƵs first section title in girls basketball since 1986.

ëƵItëƵs unreal,ëƵ Sarra said. ëƵItëƵs a special win for these girls.ëƵ

Kaley Rohanna led the Lady Raiders (11-1, 15-3) with 21 points, Clara Paige Miller followed with 15 points and Nina Sarra added 10 points. Brenna Benke chipped in with six points and Emily Bennett had four points.

Waynesburg needed a win to pull into a first-place tie with South Park, which wrapped up its section slate on Wednesday night, also with a win over Brownsville.

The Lady Raiders exploded out to a 22-4 lead in the first quarter and held a 41-20 advantage after a bit of a roller-coaster second quarter.

ëƵOur last couple games we started out really slow,ëƵ Dave Sarra said. ëƵWe came out quick in this game. We pressured a little bit to make sure we got a lead and held the lead.

ëƵBut in the second quarter we got the lead over 20 a couple times and then IëƵd look up at the scoreboard and itëƵd be back to 10 or 12. Brownsville just kept battling back. We got it back up to 21 by halftime and then our girls came out hungry in the second half, got some steals and forced some turnovers and finally put it away.ëƵ

Waynesburg outscored Brownsville 17-2 in the third to build an insurmountable 58-22 lead.

The game featured a pair of 1,000-point scorers in Miller and the Lady FalconsëƵ Emma Seto who tied for game-high honors with 21 points. Zhariah Reed added 11 points for Brownsville.

When it was over it was Nina Sarra, Dave SarraëƵs daughter, who initiated the Gatorade squirting attack on the coach.

ëƵYeah, I did,ëƵ Nina Sarra said with a laugh.

Starters Sarra, Miller and Benke are four-year lettermen who took their lumps their first two seasons before helping turn Waynesburg into winners last year.

ëƵThis is a really a great accomplishment for us,ëƵ Nina Sarra said. ëƵWe got our butts kicked a lot my freshman and sophomore years so I feel like we earned it. ItëƵs my turn. ItëƵs our turn.ëƵ

The Lady Raiders had a combined record of 14-30, including 3-25 in section play, during the trioëƵs freshmen and sophomore seasons. The past two years the team has gone a combined 28-9 with an impressive 20-3 section mark.

ëƵWe saw our fair share of losses,ëƵ Miller said. ëƵThis makes going through all that and all those hard practices and hard work we put in really worth it.ëƵ

Waynesburg almost ended its long section drought last year but suffered a heartbreaking 45-44 loss at South Park in its regular-season finale and had to settle for second.

The Lady Raiders also lost at South Park in their first meeting this season, 66-45, in December but won the rematch at home 58-53 on Jan. 25 to put themselves in position to claim at least a share of the section crown.

ëƵWe had to win four games after beating South Park and they took them one at a time, took care of business and got it done,ëƵ Dave Sarra said.

ëƵThe girls put a lot of time in, a lot of years. The three of them (Sarra, Miller and Benke) have been at it since third grade. I told them they earned it and they deserve it.ëƵ

Brownsville (6-6, 8-11) has had a surprisingly good season and wound up alone in fourth place to also qualify for the postseason.

ëƵWe knew starting out we had a very young team that would have to rely on Emma a lot,ëƵ Lady Falcons coach Patty Columbia said. ëƵIëƵm surprised and very proud that we were able to accomplish making the playoffs.

ëƵWe talked to them at the beginning of the season and told them just go out there and be competitive. ThatëƵs what they did and then we were able to beat the teams we needed to beat to get that fourth spot.ëƵ

Brownsville has lost three in a row and looks to right the ship before the postseason begins.

ëƵWeëƵve taken our lumps the last couple games,ëƵ Columbia said. ëƵWeëƵre down a starter right now. ItëƵs taken a little bit of a toll on the girls so weëƵve got to rebound emotionally to get ready for the playoffs.ëƵ

Waynesburg takes a nine-game winning streak into Monday nightëƵs non-section finale against Class AA power Greensburg Central Catholic as they prep for the postseason.

The Lady Raiders reached the WPIAL quarterfinals a year ago.

ëƵOur team is super special this year,ëƵ Miller said. ëƵIëƵm gong to miss playing together. WeëƵre not done yet, though. WeëƵve got more to prove.ëƵ

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