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Sports

Lady Colts Fall in WPIAL Playoffs

Chartiers Valley's season ends in the first round at the hands of Mt. Pleasant

CANONSBURG - The Lady Vikings used revenge as motivation in their Class AAA WPIAL first round game as No. 13 seed Mt. Pleasant defeated fourth-seeded Chartiers Valley 52-44 last night at Canon-McMillan High School.

Mt. Pleasant’s season was ended by the Lady Colts last year in the quarterfinals, which kept the Lady Vikings from reaching the PIAA playoffs.

β€œThe girls that were around last year certainly didn’t forget that,” Mt. Pleasant head coach Scott Giacobbi said. β€œOur seniors brought that with them and it gave them a little extra motivation.”

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Mount Pleasant will now play either Blackhawk or Thomas Jefferson in the quarterfinals Saturday at a site and time to be determined.

Chartiers Valley leading scorer Lexy Herron left the game twice in the first quarter with an apparent left knee injury which helped the Lady Vikings secure a, 12-3, lead with 3:30 remaining in the frame.

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However, the Lady Colts (17-6) were able to climb back into the game when Mt. Pleasant went the next seven minutes without scoring. Despite the scoreless stretch and 10 turnovers, the Lady Vikings (18-5) still led by two points at the half.

β€œWe were fortunate that we were able to jump on them early, but in a game like this we knew we were going to have to work for everything,” Giacobbi said. β€œThey are a class defensive team, and a class team all around, so we had to work for everything.”

After battling through five ties and eight lead changes in the second half, Mt. Pleasant held a two-point lead with 31 seconds left in the game, when Herron stole the ensuing inbounds pass. Then, with just two seconds left, Herron hit a running floater from the foul line to extend the game to overtime.

"I was happy for us at that point, but I was planning the next four minutes," Chartiers Valley head coach Spencer Stefko said.

But in the extra frame, the Lady Vikings outscored Chartiers Valley, 11-3, due mainly to strong free throw shooting. Nicole Malara, who scored a game-high 17 points, shot three of four from the stripe in the frame, while Kelsey Porter made four of her five attempts.

The difference in the game may have been the 23 turnovers that Mt. Pleasant was able to force. According to Chartiers Valley coach Spencer Stefko, the turnovers can be attributed to the Lady Vikings’ tenacious defense.

β€œThat was all these guys playing defense,” Stefko said. β€œThere’s two teams on the court, and their defense was the story of the game. We may have given them a couple, but we certainly didn’t give them 23. You have to give them a lot of credit.”

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