Lost in the shuffle: Brownsville slighted in seedings, falls to No. 2 GCC, 66-31
GREENSBURG 无毛视频� Brownsville figured it would be pitted against a higher seeded team and thus would be an underdog in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A girls basketball playoffs.
To be relegated to the last seed in the bracket by the WPIAL pairings committee, however, was a perceived slap in the face by the team and Brownsville fans.
The Lady Falcons thus found themselves on the road against a supreme second-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic team Friday night, and the Lady Centurions rolled to a 66-31 victory.
Erica Gribble poured in a game-high 27 points and Jayla Peterson added 16 as GCC (18-5) advanced to Wednesday无毛视频檚 quarterfinals against No. 7 Quaker Valley, which edged McGuffey, 39-35, also Friday.
Skyler Gates rang up 17 points to lead the way for Brownsville (13-10) which also got five points apiece from Ava Clark and Zhariah Reed, and a 3-pointer from Ciara Horabik.
The Lady Falcons were seeded below teams such as No. 14 South Allegheny (5-17), which lost 56-8 to No. 3 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and Ligonier Valley (7-15), which fell to No. 4 Keystone Oaks, 56-31, in other first-round games.
How could this be?
South Allegheny and Ligonier Valley tied for fifth-place in Section 2. Brownsville was the fourth-place team out of Section 3. While the Lady Falcons fell to GCC by 35 points, the Lady Centurions hammered SA twice by 42 and 48 points and also routed LV twice by 61 and 44 points.
Brownsville seemed at least to be a lock to receive a No. 13 seed at the very least.
Brownsville coach Patty Columbia explained what she felt happened in the pairings meeting.
无毛视频淔irst off, I never like to criticize the WPIAL committee because I know it无毛视频檚 hard work and that no matter how they go about it, someone无毛视频檚 going to be unhappy and someone无毛视频檚 going to criticize their process,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淏ut, me, personally, I think we were forgotten.无毛视频�
Literally, Columbia meant. When the brackets were shown on a live broadcast, Brownsville was not listed on the Class 3A bracket, causing one reporter to scramble and check the final standings to see if he had interpreted them wrong.
无毛视频淣o, we weren无毛视频檛 up there,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淣obody knows quite what happened. I don无毛视频檛 feel that anyone sat down and seeded us as 15th. We were somehow omitted from the original 14-team bracket and then I feel they kind of just slid us in at the bottom.无毛视频�
The Lady Falcons gave it their best effort but the Lady Centurions proved to be too much to handle.
Greensburg Central, spurred on by their pressing, trapping defense, used a 14-point run in the first quarter to turn a 6-3 lead into a 20-3 advantage and were never threatened again.
GCC led 22-5 after the first quarter, 41-17 at halftime and 57-25 after three.
无毛视频淵ou never know how the first one is going to be. In my opinion it无毛视频檚 one of the hardest ones to win because the kids are so used to a routine,无毛视频� Greensburg Central coach Chris Skatell said. 无毛视频淭he routine changes now.无毛视频�
Skatell did his best to keep his team sharp, though.
无毛视频淲e played Monday night against Oakland Catholic which was really good for us,无毛视频� said Skatell of the No. 2 seed in Class 4A. 无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e a really good team. We ended up losing the game by one but it was a great game and we played well so it got our juices going a little bit. Then we scrimmaged this week, too.
无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 shoot well early tonight but we got a couple buckets out of the press, then once we settled down we were alright.无毛视频�
Skatell was impressed by Gates, who was a force inside blocking shots and rebounding and even coming up with a couple steals.
无毛视频淚 knew she was a problem just from watching her on tape,无毛视频� Skatell said. 无毛视频淪he无毛视频檚 a nice player. I asked her if she played AAU, she said nah I无毛视频檓 committed to UVA for volleyball,无毛视频� Skatell added with a chuckle.
无毛视频淏ut I just thought overall Brownsville was pretty well coached.无毛视频�
Columbia commended the Lady Centurions.
无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e an outstanding team,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e disciplined, well-coached, very experienced, they have great chemistry. I tip my hat to them. That无毛视频檚 how the game of basketball is supposed to be played. They schooled us. I wish them nothing but the best of luck the rest of the way.
无毛视频淚t was a clean game and a well-officiated game.无毛视频�
Columbia praised her own team无毛视频檚 efforts.
无毛视频淭hey played hard. I无毛视频檓 very proud of them,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淪kyler played her heart out. I thought she really stepped it up. She showed us what she无毛视频檚 really capable of.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 proud to be their coach. I thought they represented Brownsville well. We had nice support from the community and we really appreciate that.无毛视频�
It was the final game for Brownsville seniors Reed and Lydia Geary.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e going to miss them,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淟ydia is a great leader on the team. She knows how to take charge of situations. We无毛视频檙e going to miss her presence and her hustle.
无毛视频淎nd we无毛视频檙e obviously going to miss Zhariah. She无毛视频檚 been the heart and soul of this team the last four years. We无毛视频檝e got a lot of work to do to fill her shoes.无毛视频�