Uniontown girls fall to Woodland Hills
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP – Despite missing one starter, despite having two seniors foul out late in the game, despite more turnovers than you would find in Giant Eagle freezers, and four protracted shooting cold spells – including one that lasted more than four minutes, Uniontown’s girls basketball team took Woodland Hills (18-7) to the buzzer at Hempfield High School Friday night before dropping a first round WPIAL Quad-A playoff game to the Wolverines, 52-47. “I told the girls they should be proud of themselves,” said Uniontown coach Jason Winfrey. “We played hard all night and it came down to a couple possessions at the end of the game. We didn’t get some rebounds. We didn’t have some shots fall. In the end we just didn’t play well enough for our season to continue.”
After Uniontown freshman Kelsey Sleighter turned an offensive rebound into an easy layup 25 seconds into the game, giving the Lady Red Raiders a quick 2-0 lead, four turnovers in five possessions enabled the Lady Wolverines to open up a quick 7-2 lead.
But in what would be a recurring theme all night, Uniontown fought back to close the gap to 13-11 after one quarter.
Sleighter scored seven of her 11 points in the opening eight minutes, single-handedly keeping Uniontown in the game.
“She is a heck-of-a-player,” said Winfrey. “She played well, especially for a freshman, and kept us in the game early.”
But eight first-quarter turnovers and a dozen more in the second period kept the Red Raiders from gaining any momentum.
After Cherese Hodge’s free throw 2:43 into the second period, Uniontown’s first points of the quarter, and Lawren Davis’ three-pointer two minutes later, Uniontown would wait another 4:34 before scoring. Trailing 25-15, thanks in part to a cold first half for Woodland Hills, Sherika Brown’s free throws with two seconds remaining in the quarter cut the Wolverines’ lead to eight at 25-17, at the half.
“Woodland Hills is very athletic and they were getting in our passing lanes in the first half,” said Winfrey. “In the first half we weren’t playing with our eyes up and we were not patient. We took better care of the ball in the second half and were more patient. We came out strong in the second half and began to attack more. We played our style of ball in the second half.”
Winfrey’s halftime advice worked as the Red Raiders scored the first six points of the third quarter.
When Davis, who led Uniontown with 14 points, hit a three pointer from the left side at 3:20 of the quarter, Uniontown had its first lead, 28-27, since the opening seconds of the game. But a 9-2 Woodland Hills run to close the quarter had the Wolverines on top, 36-30, after three quarters.
But 6-2 sophomore Emilee Madison came off the bench in the final period to spark the Red Raiders. Madison had three key baskets, including one after an offensive rebound, in the first four minutes of the final quarter.
“She did what we asked in the fourth quarter,” said Winfrey. “She has made a big improvement since her freshman season and we expect her to be one of our keys next season.”
After Madison’s third basket tied the game at 40, Cherese Hodge’s offensive rebound and put back tied the game at 45, but Woodland Hills, who will play the winner of this afternoon’s Mt. Lebanon-McKeesport game in the quarter finals, outscored the Red Raiders 7-2 the remainder of the game.
Despite the loss, Winfrey spoke in an excited voice about his team.
“We achieved our goals this season,” he said. “We tied for second in our section and made the playoffs. We were above .500 (14-11) for the season, and we played hard every game, especially tonight. I’m proud of this team.”
For the talented and quick Lady Wolverines of coach Korie Morton-Rozier, guard Jamie Smith, the WPIAL’s fourth-leading scorer, and 6-2 center Nakia DeBlanc led the way with 22 and 16 points, respectively. Smith’s game high 22 gives her 514 for the season and 1,512 for her career. DeBlanc has 1,088 for her career.
“Our press and zone caused problems for Uniontown,” said Morton-Rozier, “and we were able to take advantage of both our quickness and height, especially when we rebounded better in the second half. We expect Smith to have the night she had, but Uniontown’s man defense did a good job on her. We knew Uniontown was athletic and this was the type of game we expected. We knew they could play. It’s a good win. Any win in the playoffs is a good win. Now we have to get ready for the next game.”