Far away
Uniontown boys, LH, Geibel girls face long trips to open PIAA tourney
Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 boys basketball team will enjoy the spoils of winning a WPIAL championship by receiving a home game in the first round of the PIAA tournament.
The other three area teams who have qualified for the state playoffs aren无毛视频檛 so lucky.
Uniontown无毛视频檚 boys, Laurel Highlands无毛视频� girls and Geibel Catholic无毛视频檚 girls all face multi-hour trips in the first round.
Red Raiders coach Rob Kezmarsky has no complaints.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 so proud and excited to be playing in this for three years in a row,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said.
All four teams will deal with an extended layoff as well.
Uniontown and Belle Vernon will both be in action Friday.
The Leopards (21-4) host Farrell (12-11), the fifth-place team out of District 5, at 7 p.m. in the Class 4A bracket.
Uniontown (22-4), the fifth-place out of the WPIAL, faces an approximately two-and-a-half hour trip to District 10 champion Meadville (16-8), also at 7 p.m., in the Class 5A bracket.
The Lady Mustangs and Lady Gators will both play Saturday afternoon.
Laurel Highlands has a slightly longer trip than Uniontown in the girls Class 4A bracket. The Lady Mustangs (19-6) go to District 9 champion Clearfield (18-5) for a 1 p.m. tipoff.
The longest trip among the local foursome was dealt to Geibel, which placed fourth in the WPIAL in Class A. The Lady Gator (22-3) were sent to Otto Eldred (22-5), the second-place team in District 9, for a 2 p.m. game at the Duke Center.
无毛视频淎 four-hour drive for a state playoff game is what we face on Saturday, but we无毛视频檒l focus on what is within our control and prepare accordingly,无毛视频� Geibel coach Sara Larkin said.
While this will be a new experience for the Lady Gators无毛视频� current players, the Red Raiders无毛视频� and Lady Mustangs无毛视频� current rosters do have PIAA experience. Uniontown has gone 4-2 in the state playoffs the last two years.
无毛视频淭wo years ago we won three and got to the final four and played for a spot in the state final,无毛视频� Kezmarsky pointed out. 无毛视频淟ast year we lost (in the second round) to Lincoln Park, 66-62, and they went on to win the state final by 30 points.
无毛视频淭he long trip is different but we无毛视频檙e used to it, playing in Florida and playing in this two years ago when we had a couple long bus rides, and that has prepared us. Our school will handle this first class and we无毛视频檒l have a great fan show-up.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 tough playing on the other team无毛视频檚 home court but this group proved you can win and advance.无毛视频�
Laurel Highlands, like Uniontown, is coming off back-to-back consolation wins as it heads into the state playoffs. The Red Raiders lost a tight game with Peters Township, 56-52, and the Lady Mustangs fell to top-seeded Blackhawk, 59-32, both in the WPIAL quarterfinals.
无毛视频淭hey responded after the Blackhawk game,无毛视频� said LH coach Stewart Davis, who was suspended for two games following the loss to the Lady Cougars after drawing a pair of technical fouls.
Laurel Highlands assistant coach Ryan Schwertfeger guided the Lady Mustangs to consolation victories at Beaver, 51-49, and at South Park, 55-38.
无毛视频淢aking that trip to Beaver in a must-win game to qualify for the states, they worked hard for a two-day turnaround and were eager to get down there and won it,无毛视频� Davis said. 无毛视频淪outh Park was a statement game, saying we shouldn无毛视频檛 have lost there during the regular season. They definitely wanted to win that one as well to prove to themselves that they should无毛视频檝e been first or second in the section.无毛视频�
Laurel Highlands wound up third behind Elizabeth Forward and South Park.
Davis gave his team a break following Wednesday无毛视频檚 win at South Park.
无毛视频淚 gave them a leisure, gave them Friday and Saturday off to hit the reset button and didn无毛视频檛 do anything as far as Clearfield prep goes,无毛视频� Davis said. 无毛视频淪ometimes a mental rest helps, too. I gave them the option to come in and put some shots up and everyone showed and bonded. It was a fun practice. The energy was great.
无毛视频淣ow from Monday until Friday we无毛视频檒l do everything we need to do to prepare for Clearfield.无毛视频�
The Lady Mustangs won the program无毛视频檚 first PIAA game last year, winning at Johnstown, 51-48.
无毛视频淭hey responded when we went down to Johnstown last year,无毛视频� Davis said. 无毛视频淚t will be an early bus ride. We get on at 9 (a.m.) and I hope the ride is comfortable so they can sit back and relax. Hopefully they无毛视频檒l be rested and will take that time on the trip to mentally prepare.无毛视频�
The Lady Gators reached the WPIAL final four but enter the PIAA tournament on a two-game losing streak after falling to Clairton, 52-32, in the semifinals and Aquinas Academy, 65-56, in the third-place consolation game.
无毛视频淢y primary goal this week is to ensure the team stays focused, hydrated and rested,无毛视频� said Larkin, who has Geibel in the state playoffs for the first time since 1999.
无毛视频淲e will view the four-hour trip as an opportunity to get in the right mindset and prepare for the game. Once we arrive on Saturday, a solid warmup and high energy will set the tone for every player to lock in and leave it all on the court.无毛视频�
There are no more consolation games at this point.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 win or go home,无毛视频� Larkin said. 无毛视频淣o excuses.无毛视频�