Huston sparks Blackhawk in win over Lady Leopards
Belle Vernon coach Cornelious Nesbit scouted Blackhawk蘑菇视频 girls basketball team and came up with a game plan for their PIAA Class 4A second-round playoff game on Wednesday night.
What he didn鈥檛 foresee was Lady Cougars鈥� senior Grace Huston shooting the lights out.
Huston poured in 21 points all coming on seven 3-pointers as Blackhawk jumped to an early lead and went on to defeat the Lady Leopards, 55-41, at North Allegheny High School.
Nesbit was much more concerned with Lady Cougars senior Aubree Hupp, who finished with two 3-pointers and 19 points.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e definitely one of the best teams we鈥檝e played this year and they present some problems with Hupp, but I thought we guarded her well for the most part,鈥� Nesbit said. 鈥淚t took somebody to have a career night to send us home, and sometimes that happens in basketball. She (Huston) averages eight points a game.鈥�
Blackhawk pulled out to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter and surged to a 32-16 halftime lead. The Lady Cougars remained in control the rest of the way.
Blackhawk (24-1), the WPIAL runner-up, moves on to Saturday蘑菇视频 quarterfinals against North Catholic.
Belle Vernon, the fifth seed from District 7 which was coming off its first PIAA victory since 1998, finished with a 23-5 record in a season that saw it win the Section 3-4A title outright and set a program record for wins.
All that came with a starting lineup void of seniors. While the young Lady Leopards played beyond their years most of the season, Nesbit felt the pressure of the big stage may have finally got to his players on Wednesday night.
鈥淚 thought we were a little nervous in that first quarter,鈥� Nesbit said. 鈥淲e had some shots that typically we make that weren鈥檛 even close.
鈥淧art of it was just trying to get them through that first quarter so they could settle themselves down and get comfortable in the environment.鈥�
Belle Vernon improved in the second half, out-scoring the Lady Cougars 25-23 over the final two quarters.
Freshman Lyla McConnell led the Lady Leopards with 18 points to go along with five steals and three assists. Sophomore Aubrey Brown totaled 12 points with a pair of 3-pointers, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
鈥淲e challenged them at halftime to not worry about the scoreboard, just go compete,鈥� Nesbit said. 鈥淭hat was my message to them. Let蘑菇视频 see if we can win a quarter. I thought they did do that in the third and fourth quarter.鈥�
Nesbit pointed out how valuable the experience his players gained during their six-game playoff run will be in their development.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e in a great position. All these games in the postseason will benefit us next year,鈥� Nesbit said. 鈥淣ow that we鈥檝e been there and done that, I expect even bigger things to come.鈥�