Greyhounds hope to keep winning streak alive
Jim Downey | 无毛视频-Standard
Southmoreland无毛视频檚 Delaynie Morvosh shoots a layup against Belle Vernon during a game on Jan. 27. The Lady Scotties host Highlands tonight in a WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinal game.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard/
Monessen无毛视频檚 Lorenzo Gardner puts in two of his game-high 23 points during a game at Carmichaels on Feb. 8. The Greyhounds play in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals tonight against Greensburg Central Catholic at Norwin.
Victory No. 16 of Monessen无毛视频檚 long winning streak didn无毛视频檛 come easily.
Greyhounds coach Dan Bosnic doesn无毛视频檛 think that was necessarily a bad thing.
Monessen, the fifth seed, fought off No. 12 Jeannette, 69-59, to earn a spot in the WPIAL Class AA boys basketball quarterfinals tonight against No. 4 Greensburg Central Catholic at Norwin.
无毛视频淛eannette was a tough game,无毛视频� Bosnic said. 无毛视频淲e have a lot of inexperience on our team and we had to play well to win the game so I think it should help us moving forward.无毛视频�
The Greyhounds join two local teams on the girls side that also play quarterfinal games tonight, both in Class AAAA. Second-seeded Southmoreland hosts No. 7 Highlands and fifth-seeded Elizabeth Forward travels to No. 4 Beaver.
It无毛视频檒l take another strong effort for Monessen (19-4), the Section 2 champion, to stretch its winning streak to 17 and move into the semifinals, according to Bosnic.
无毛视频淕reensburg is a good team with a lot of size and they have kids with playoff experience,无毛视频� Bosnic pointed out. 无毛视频淭hey played in the WPIAL finals last year.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檒l be a challenge. We无毛视频檒l have to play really well and do things we always have to do to be successful to win the game. We无毛视频檙e going to have to be effective on defense and create a lot of turnovers. It kind of always starts and ends there for us.无毛视频�
Bosnic has coached some strong teams in the past and guided Connellsville to a 20-3 record in 2011, but he无毛视频檚 never had a team string this many wins together.
无毛视频淣o, I无毛视频檝e never experienced this before,无毛视频� Bosnic said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a credit to our kids that they无毛视频檝e been able to stay focused throughout this time. They were an inexperienced group coming in and they came together fast and really jelled. The all do whatever they need to do every night for the team to be successful. That无毛视频檚 what无毛视频檚 been fun.无毛视频�
The Centurions (17-3), who finished first in Section 3, will play as the home team although the game was moved from their home court to accommodate a bigger crowd.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e excited to go to Norwin,无毛视频� Bosnic said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a big court. We would无毛视频檝e played anywhere to be honest and be happy about it.无毛视频�
GCC defeated South Side Beaver in the first round, 70-43.
Comparing scores can be tricky and that无毛视频檚 the case with the Centurions and the Greyhounds. GCC routed section foe Jeannette handily twice, 63-43 and 75-36. However, the Centurions were beaten soundly at home by Serra Catholic, 69-53, on Feb. 11, the same team Monessen defeated on the road, 69-55, three days later.
Monessen无毛视频檚 probably starting lineup includes Lorenzo Gardner, Kody Kuhns, Jaisean Blackman, Dante DeFelices and Leonaj Thomas.
Southmoreland (17-3), the Section 3 champion which received a first-round bye, enters its game against Highlands having not played in two weeks.
无毛视频淲e did have about 15 days off,无毛视频� Lady Scotties coach Amber Cernuto said. 无毛视频淲e tried to do some other team activities rather than just stay in the gym the whole time, team bonding activities and things like that and take a little bit of the pressure off the girls.无毛视频�
Cernuto feels her team is refreshed and ready to go.
无毛视频淲e took some time off with the break to get healthy,无毛视频� Cernuto said. 无毛视频淲e did have some nagging injuries, nothing serious, but they needed some rest so that everybody could regroup and get ready to go.无毛视频�
Cernuto sees Highlands (19-4), the second-place team out of Section 1, as a formidable foe.
无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e a really good team,无毛视频� Cernuto said. 无毛视频淭hey have three or four dominating shooters out at the 3-point line. They have a couple forwards that aren无毛视频檛 real big and tall but have some nice post moves and can get to the hoop. Defensively, they really put pressure on you. They无毛视频檙e very active and very aggressive.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 going to be a battle.无毛视频�
The Golden Rams beat West Mifflin in the first round, 51-33. Southmoreland owns a pair of wins over the Lady Titans, 61-32 and 53-37.
The Lady Scotties无毛视频� probable starting lineup includes Cernuto无毛视频檚 daughter, Olivia Cerntuo, along with Delaynie Morvosh, Elle Pawlikowsky, Gracie Spadaro and Maddie Moore.
Elizabeth Forward (18-4) faces a road game against a Beaver team that has lost just once at home this year. The Lady Bobcats (16-5), who were second in Section 2, knocked off Freeport in the first round, 46-28.
Coach Krystal Gibbs无毛视频� Lady Warriors, who finished second behind Southmoreland in Section 3, disposed of Central Valley, 73-41, in the first round. Beaver has also played Central Valley, three times, winning by 30, 34 and 14 points.
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 top players include seniors Brooke Markland, Bailie Brinson and Haven Briggs, who each played on the Lady Warriors无毛视频� final four team as freshmen three years ago, and junior Joselyn Dawson.