Seton-La Salle girls defeat rival Bishop Canevin to capture 7th WPIAL title
All it took was one wave of intensity for Seton-La Salle to pull away from Bishop Canevin in the WPIAL Class AA championship game.
The top-seeded Rebels outscored the No. 6-seed Crusaders, 13-2, and held them without a field goal in the second quarter en route to a 51-35 win at Petersen Events Center.
“I don't know if the X's were where they were supposed to be or the O's were spaced out properly, but I know there was a wave of emotion in the second quarter that was all defensive,” Seton-La Salle coach Spencer Stefko said. “Our defense was swarming in the second quarter.”
It is Seton-La Salle's seventh WPIAL title and fourth in the past five years.
Bishop Canevin trailed by one late in the first quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Nicolete Newman and Madalena Psillidis extended Seton-La Salle's lead to 15-8. The Crusaders' only points in the second quarter came on a pair of Sarah Green free throws.
“That is a tribute to their defense,” Bishop Canevin coach Tim Joyce said. “We kind of cracked a little bit there. We were glad the kids played hard, and they kept competing. Against a team like Seton, it is all you can try to do.”
Newman led the Rebels with 16 points, all in the first half. She had four 3-pointers.
“I was just feeling it,” Newman said. “But we were all on defensively. We were all on the same page. We worked on that recently in practice. That is what mainly won us this game.”
While Newman was held scoreless in the second half, Cassidy Walsh scored nine points over the third and fourth quarters. Newman, a Cleveland State recruit, and Walsh, a Duquesne commit, have been major contributors to this senior class' 103 wins and three WPIAL championships.
“We feed off each other,” Walsh said. “It is like I know where she is at, and she knows where I am. When you play together for so long, it is almost natural.”
Morgan Henderson added 11 points for the Rebels (19-7).
Green led Bishop Canevin (16-10) with 17 points, and Brionna Allen had 11. Bishop Canevin mounted a small comeback in the third quarter and cut the deficit to 13. But a Walsh 3-pointer ended the Crusaders' run.
“We had to get it to single digits to have any chance,” Joyce said. “I enjoy playing them. We have been a good team the last couple of years, and they've been better. It shows how good they have been.”
It was the 17th meeting between the teams over the past five seasons. The Rebels hold a 15-2 advantage during the stretch with two WPIAL championship wins over the Crusaders.
Seton-La Salle defeated Bishop Canevin twice in Section 3-AA this season, and Stefko was adamant there could be a fourth game in the series in the PIAA tournament.
“If we are not a little better the next time we play them, they will beat us,” Stefko said. “The effort we gave today was nice, but it won't be good enough in Round 4. Round 4 is the only one that matters.”
Bishop Canevin (16-10) plays the District 10 third-place finisher in the opening round of the PIAA tournament March 6. Seton-La Salle (19-7) faces third third-place finisher from District 6 the same day, times and locations to be determined.
Nathan Smith is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at nsmith@tribweb.com or via Twitter @NSmith_Trib.
