Young Lady Leopards show no fear in PIAA win at Clearfield
A coach taking a team with a senior-less starting lineup on a long road trip for its first PIAA playoff game would likely expect to see plenty of nerves from his players.
Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 girls basketball team showed little if any jitters, though, in disposing of host Clearfield, 58-46, in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament on Saturday.
Sophomore Aubrey Brown and junior Saylor Lee both turned in double-doubles as the Lady Leopards (23-4) extended their team record for wins in a season in advancing to Wednesday无毛视频檚 second round against Blackhawk with the site and time to be determined. It was Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 first win in the PIAA tournament since 1998.
Cornelious Nesbit wasn无毛视频檛 surprised.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檒l be honest with you. It无毛视频檚 what I expected from this group, being around them all season,无毛视频� Nesbit said. 无毛视频淚 think they were loose these last two days. You try to kind of see when you无毛视频檙e going through practice, has anything changed with the kids? And they were still laughing and joking and asking me to play music.
无毛视频淚 could sense on the bus ride out there they无毛视频檙e ready.无毛视频�
Lee totaled a game-high 19 rebounds with 13 points and three assists and Brown scored a game-high 24 points with 12 boards, four assists and a blocked shot. Lyla McConnell, one of two freshmen starters for Belle Vernon along with Isis Albyty, added 10 points.
Junior Abby Russell scored all seven of her points, including a 3-pointer, in the first quarter when Belle Vernon grabbed a 22-15 lead. She also contributed four assists.
无毛视频淚 thought Abby Russell hitting some early shots helped us really get settled in.无毛视频� Nesbit said. 无毛视频淥ur plan was to get off to a good start in the first quarter. We felt like if we could do that we无毛视频檇 be fine. It helped us take the fans out of the game a little bit and let Clearfield know that they无毛视频檙e in for a battle today, like this isn无毛视频檛 going to be easy for them just because we无毛视频檙e young.无毛视频�
The Lady Leopards faltered slightly in the second quarter but still wound up with a 30-28 halftime lead.
无毛视频淲e were up 10 in the second and then some of our youth showed up and they went on a run and took a one-point lead,无毛视频� Nesbit said. 无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 have a good second quarter and a lot of that was when we went up 10 our kids went for the jugular and I无毛视频檓 OK with that. We just didn无毛视频檛 do it the right way.
无毛视频淲e were trying to jump on them more and I thought we sped ourselves up a little too fast and we had some turnovers, but that无毛视频檚 a great learning experience for us.无毛视频�
The Lady Leopards maintained their advantage the entire third quarter, then scored the first 11 points of the fourth to all but put the game away.
无毛视频淲e were up two to four points throughout the third quarter and ended up ahead by three (42-39) and then we played really well in the fourth quarter,无毛视频� Nesbit said.
无毛视频淚t was our defense. Abby Russell is a lock-down defender. She held one of their girls, a really good shooter who averages 14 points for them (Mia Helsel), to two points on two free throws.无毛视频�
The Lady Leopards dominated the boards as well.
无毛视频淲hat we thought would be an advantage for us was our size,无毛视频� Nesbit said. 无毛视频淲e thought that we could out-rebound them and make them take some tough shots. We ended up out-rebounding them 42-20.无毛视频�
Sonny Diehl led the Bison (18-7) with 23 points.
Nesbit cited leadership and competitive practices as reasons for the composure his team shows despite its youth.
无毛视频淓ven though we无毛视频檙e a young team, we have leaders in the locker room,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淎bby Russell is our quiet leader who is just going to go out there and show you how to do it. She无毛视频檚 not a big rah-rah person, doesn无毛视频檛 really like the limelight. She just wants to play and be a great teammate.
无毛视频淪aylor Lee is more of our vocal kid. She无毛视频檒l challenge teammates. She无毛视频檚 more of a talker and one who will go out there and hold herself to a certain standard.
无毛视频淎lso, we have some really good practices. We compete all the time in practice. Some days we无毛视频檙e competing because we无毛视频檙e playing live five-on-five or three-on-three. There are other days we just compete with shooting drills where it无毛视频檚 timed and they无毛视频檝e got to get a certain amount of points.
无毛视频淓verything we do is competition-based. So I know these kids are going to compete, I never have to worry about that.无毛视频�
With a section championship, wins in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs and a school-record for wins already chalked up, Nesbit is looking for more from his squad.
无毛视频淲e want to live in the moment,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 told the kids we无毛视频檒l celebrate all the successes once the season is finally over. I don无毛视频檛 think a lot of people thought we无毛视频檇 be here right now. I get people saying you无毛视频檙e playing with house money but I don无毛视频檛 believe that because I believe this team is really good.
无毛视频淲e believe we deserve to be at the table with everybody else.无毛视频�