Onto the states
Lady Gators host first-round PIAA game after epic WPIAL final
PITTSBURGH 无毛视频� Geibel Catholic无毛视频檚 girls basketball team finally reached the Petersen Events Center in senior Emma Larkin无毛视频檚 final year.
After a 47-46 loss to Serra Catholic in an epic final played without injured star center Mallory Clemmer, the Lady Gators face another challenge.
Geibel will host a PIAA tournament game Saturday after falling in the first round of last year无毛视频檚 state playoffs following a consolation loss to Aquinas Academy.
Clemmer and her 22.2 points and 15 rebounds per game will not be available for PIAA play.
The Lady Gators (23-2) host District 6 third-place team St. Joseph无毛视频檚 Catholic Academy (24-3) with a 1 p.m. tipoff.
After Friday无毛视频檚 game, Geibel coach and Emma无毛视频檚 mother Sara Larkin looked ahead.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e going to take a couple days off, I can tell you that for sure, with the low numbers,无毛视频� Sara Larkin said.
Clemmer无毛视频檚 absence leaves Geibel with six healthy players on its roster. Its starting five 无毛视频� Emma Larkin, Janiah Darnell, Alexa Morgan, Emaleigh Horn and Paige Dolan 无毛视频� played the entire game against Serra.
Emma Larkin turned in a double-double in the district final with 22 points and 10 rebounds, Morgan hit four 3-pointers in scoring 15 points and Darnell hauled in 12 rebounds.
无毛视频淲e need a little bit of rest,无毛视频� Sara Larkin said.
The plan was to take the weekend off and then regroup on Monday in preparation for Saturday.
无毛视频淚 know we无毛视频檙e going to have a tough opponent so we无毛视频檙e just going to take a couple days rest and pull everybody back together on Monday and prepare for that Saturday game.无毛视频�
Sara Larkins was pleased to be playing at home.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 great we get to host,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e not on the road. Last year we had a four-hour bus trip up to Otto-Eldred. So we无毛视频檙e excited to actually host a state game.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 not over yet. These girls are playing some phenomenal basketball, every single kid out there, even Paige Dolan stepping in for Mal. We无毛视频檙e looking forward to it. It无毛视频檚 going to be a good game.无毛视频�
Sara Larkin reflected on the unfortunate injury Clemmer suffered.
无毛视频淚f you were at the game on Monday (52-50 overtime win over top-seeded Aquinas on Feb. 23), you saw the celebration at the end,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚t was unfortunate. It无毛视频檚 something they do after every game. They jump up to each other, she fell backwards, lost her balance, tried to catch herself with that left arm, broke her wrist, clean break.
无毛视频淟uckily we avoided surgery. They were able to reduce it, get back aligned. But she无毛视频檚 not going to be on the floor.无毛视频�
St. Joseph无毛视频檚 Catholic Academy 无毛视频� not to be confused with St. Joseph of the WPIAL who Geibel defeated in the quarterfinals 无毛视频� defeated Williamsburg in the District 6 third-place game, 75-73. The Wolfpack had a 21-game winning streak snapped in a 62-61 loss to Bishop Carroll in the district semifinals.
The winner will play the survivor between the aforementioned WPIAL St. Joseph squad and District 9 champion Clarion Limestone in the PIAA second round on March 11.
If the Lady Gators could get on a run in the state tournament, a fourth meeting with Serra could be a possibility. They split their two regular-season games in tying for first place in Section 2.
无毛视频淚 wouldn无毛视频檛 be opposed to a rematch with Serra,无毛视频� Sara Larkin said. 无毛视频淭his is good competitive basketball. Nobody wants to come in and blow somebody out, you want to have a good, competitive, fun game.
无毛视频淪o I welcome that opportunity absolutely.无毛视频�