Lady Mustangs suffer frustrating loss to Blackhawk
McMURRAY – Stewart Davis watched video of Blackhawk’s girls basketball team and felt his Laurel Highlands squad had a realistic shot to knock off the No. 1 seed.
“I knew looking at film that Blackhawk was a very good team but I didn’t think they were a great team,” Davis said. “I thought we were capable of beating them. I just think the ball bounced their way a little bit and the calls definitely went their way.”
Aubree Hupp scored a game-high 27 points and the Lady Cougars made 15 of 18 free throws in knocking off the eighth-seeded Lady Mustangs, 59-32, in their WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal playoff game at Peters Township High School’s AHN Arena Thursday night.
Laurel Highlands shot 100 percent from the foul line. The trouble was the Lady Mustangs only had two attempts, both by Miya Harris early in the first quarter.
That didn’t sit well with Davis, who was ejected from the game after being assessed two technical fouls late in the fourth quarter.
“That tells you a lot,” Davis said of the free throw numbers. “You have a team playing a physical defense on you the entire game and you get to the foul line once. Our defense was one of the top defenses in 4A because we teach toughness, but when you allow only one team to be the aggressor and we’re not allowed to match that, well, then you know what it is.”
The loss dropped Laurel Highlands (17-6) into the consolation bracket where they were scheduled to play at No. 5 Beaver (17-6) Saturday at noon. The Lady Bobcats lost to No. 4 Elizabeth Forward, 63-52.
“We’ve just got to bounce back in this play-in game, hopefully get a win and we can get in the states,” said Davis, who won’t be allowed to coach his team because of the ejection. “My assistants will coach the team collectively.”
Blackhawk (22-2) advanced to Monday’s quarterfinals where it will play EF in a 6 p.m. game at North Allegheny.
Laurel Highlands played a strong first half and trailed just 25-21 at halftime.
Harris scored the game’s opening basket and, after a three-point play by Hupp, made two free throws to put the Lady Mustangs up 4-3.
Laurel Highlands, despite consistently trying to drive to the basket, would not get to the foul line again.
LH’s Taylor Schwertfeger answered a layup by the Lady Cougars’ Alivia Rabick with a 3-pointer to put the Lady Mustangs up 7-5, but consecutive 3-pointers by Andrea Kinger and Mia Sheesley put Blackhawk back on top. Schwertfeger hit a runner to make it 11-9 after one quarter.
After a Sheesley 3-pointer opened second-quarter scoring, Laurel Highlands put up the next seven points on driving baskets by Ayrianna Sumpter and Harris and a Harris 3-pointer for a 16-14 lead.
Two free throws by Kinger and a basket by Hupp put Blackhawk back in front 18-16 and it would never trail again.
The Lady Mustangs pulled even twice more in the quarter, 18-18 on a Harris basket and 21-21 on a 3-pointer by Schwertfeger. Ringer made two more free throws with 59 seconds left in the half to give Blackhawk the lead for good and Hupp finished the quarter with a basket for a four-point halftime advantage.
The Lady Cougars got consecutive 3-pointers from Sheesley and Kinger to open the second half, then answered a basket by Sumpter with buckets by Hupp and Kinger to go up 34-23, prompting Davis to call a timeout midway through the quarter.
“I thought we played a great first half,” Davis said. “We had a few missed opportunities. The second half we came out and the first five possessions we had four turnovers and a missed three. Against a good team like that you can’t afford to turn it over. That’s when their lead started to grow.”
Blackhawk led 36-25 after three quarters. Sumpter pulled LH within 10 with a basket off a rebound early in the fourth quarter but the Lady Mustangs would get no closer.
Kinger wound up with 13 points and Sheesley added 12 for Blackhawk.
Sumpter followed Harris in the Laurel Highlands scoring column with 11 points and had four rebounds. Schwertfeger, who had eight points before fouling out, was the only other Lady Mustang to score. Aierra Jenkins, who also fouled out, totaled four rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and a steal.
LH made just 13 of 41 shots for 31.7 percent, but Davis thought the way the game was officiated had a lot to do with that.
“Shots weren’t going in but then again we’re trying to make things happen on offense, trying to get the ball inside, trying to get to the paint and of course we’re getting pushed, we’re getting grabbed, they’re reaching across our body to tip the ball away,” Davis said.
“I notice when we get this deep in the playoffs it seems like they reward toughness. So we saw that tonight but the problem was when we tried to start matching their energy in that way, we get the ticky-tack calls on us, they’re calling charges on us and then I can see it deflates us. It’s disheartening.
“When I see the other coach can talk to the referees but I can’t say two words then I know what type of night it’s going to be. It’s not like I’m being aggressive and yelling and screaming. I didn’t get to that point until near the end when I had enough. Was it a mistake by me as a coach? Yes.”
Davis felt he had a good game plan going in.
“We have two girls inside who can dominate the paint and we’ve got shooters on the outside that can knock down shots,” Davis said.
“We expected them to pressure the ball and try to take away the paint. So we wanted to throw the ball to the high post and dump it in. When that happens and you allow the other girl to body up and bump and then we miss a layup, and then we go down and play defense and they get a call that you just didn’t get … it’s discouraging.”