Waynesburg claims first section title since 1986
HILLER 鈥� Dave Sarra found himself in a bit of a predicament Thursday night.
The Waynesburg Central girls basketball coach was wearing a soaked shirt on what was a frigid night.
鈥淵eah, I got a Gatorade shower,鈥� Sarra said. 鈥淚t was more of a Gatorade water bottle bath.鈥�
The Lady Raiders were in a celebratory mood after defeating Brownsville, 62-34, to clinch a share of the Section 2-AAA championship.
Who could blame them? It was Waynesburg蘑菇视频 first section title in girls basketball since 1986.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 unreal,鈥� Sarra said. 鈥淚t蘑菇视频 a special win for these girls.鈥�
Kaley Rohanna led the Lady Raiders (11-1, 15-3) with 21 points, Clara Paige Miller followed with 15 points and Nina Sarra added 10 points. Brenna Benke chipped in with six points and Emily Bennett had four points.
Waynesburg needed a win to pull into a first-place tie with South Park, which wrapped up its section slate on Wednesday night, also with a win over Brownsville.
The Lady Raiders exploded out to a 22-4 lead in the first quarter and held a 41-20 advantage after a bit of a roller-coaster second quarter.
鈥淥ur last couple games we started out really slow,鈥� Dave Sarra said. 鈥淲e came out quick in this game. We pressured a little bit to make sure we got a lead and held the lead.
鈥淏ut in the second quarter we got the lead over 20 a couple times and then I鈥檇 look up at the scoreboard and it鈥檇 be back to 10 or 12. Brownsville just kept battling back. We got it back up to 21 by halftime and then our girls came out hungry in the second half, got some steals and forced some turnovers and finally put it away.鈥�
Waynesburg outscored Brownsville 17-2 in the third to build an insurmountable 58-22 lead.
The game featured a pair of 1,000-point scorers in Miller and the Lady Falcons鈥� Emma Seto who tied for game-high honors with 21 points. Zhariah Reed added 11 points for Brownsville.
When it was over it was Nina Sarra, Dave Sarra蘑菇视频 daughter, who initiated the Gatorade squirting attack on the coach.
鈥淵eah, I did,鈥� Nina Sarra said with a laugh.
Starters Sarra, Miller and Benke are four-year lettermen who took their lumps their first two seasons before helping turn Waynesburg into winners last year.
鈥淭his is a really a great accomplishment for us,鈥� Nina Sarra said. 鈥淲e got our butts kicked a lot my freshman and sophomore years so I feel like we earned it. It蘑菇视频 my turn. It蘑菇视频 our turn.鈥�
The Lady Raiders had a combined record of 14-30, including 3-25 in section play, during the trio蘑菇视频 freshmen and sophomore seasons. The past two years the team has gone a combined 28-9 with an impressive 20-3 section mark.
鈥淲e saw our fair share of losses,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淭his makes going through all that and all those hard practices and hard work we put in really worth it.鈥�
Waynesburg almost ended its long section drought last year but suffered a heartbreaking 45-44 loss at South Park in its regular-season finale and had to settle for second.
The Lady Raiders also lost at South Park in their first meeting this season, 66-45, in December but won the rematch at home 58-53 on Jan. 25 to put themselves in position to claim at least a share of the section crown.
鈥淲e had to win four games after beating South Park and they took them one at a time, took care of business and got it done,鈥� Dave Sarra said.
鈥淭he girls put a lot of time in, a lot of years. The three of them (Sarra, Miller and Benke) have been at it since third grade. I told them they earned it and they deserve it.鈥�
Brownsville (6-6, 8-11) has had a surprisingly good season and wound up alone in fourth place to also qualify for the postseason.
鈥淲e knew starting out we had a very young team that would have to rely on Emma a lot,鈥� Lady Falcons coach Patty Columbia said. 鈥淚鈥檓 surprised and very proud that we were able to accomplish making the playoffs.
鈥淲e talked to them at the beginning of the season and told them just go out there and be competitive. That蘑菇视频 what they did and then we were able to beat the teams we needed to beat to get that fourth spot.鈥�
Brownsville has lost three in a row and looks to right the ship before the postseason begins.
鈥淲e鈥檝e taken our lumps the last couple games,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e down a starter right now. It蘑菇视频 taken a little bit of a toll on the girls so we鈥檝e got to rebound emotionally to get ready for the playoffs.鈥�
Waynesburg takes a nine-game winning streak into Monday night蘑菇视频 non-section finale against Class AA power Greensburg Central Catholic as they prep for the postseason.
The Lady Raiders reached the WPIAL quarterfinals a year ago.
鈥淥ur team is super special this year,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚鈥檓 gong to miss playing together. We鈥檙e not done yet, though. We鈥檝e got more to prove.鈥�