Sports

The Mt. Pleasant girls basketball team knew it would have its hands full against top-ranked New Castle in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals at North Allegheny High School on Friday.

The Lady Vikings responded with a gutsy effort, but the outside shooting of Kaylynn Waters and the inside play of LaShauna Brothers was too much for Mt. Pleasant to handle as New Castle rolled into the semifinals with a 68-47 victory.

New Castle will play South Park in the semifinals at a time and site to be determined.

"Their big girl killed us," Mt. Pleasant coach Scott Giacobbi said after watching Brothers pour in 19 points to go along with 15 rebounds.

Brothers did most of her damage in the first half as she dominated the paint for 14 points in the first two quarters. Brothers' play down low opened things for Waters on the outside, and she canned a trio of 3-pointers in the opening half as part of a 19-point effort.

"She (Waters) played a nice game," Giacobbi said. "We were a step late on our coverage, and she made us pay."

Despite giving up a steady stream of points to Brothers and Waters, the Lady Vikings (18-6) hung around thanks to some hard-driving baskets by Nicole Malara. Malara, who was the hero in Mt. Pleasant's first-round victory over West Allegheny, drove the lane and picked up four key baskets to go along with five points from the foul line as part of a team-high 15-point night.

At the half, New Castle led, 38-26.

Mt. Pleasant came out of the half with their hopes of an upset still intact, but New Castle's JaNia McPhatter and Shelby Rodgers dimmed those hopes with a big third quarter. McPhatter hit six straight points to open the frame before Rodgers buried two 3-pointers to help the Lady Red Hurricanes (22-2) take a 52-29 lead.

Leading by 23, New Castle was able to cruise to the win, but Mt. Pleasant, to its credit, never conceded.

"I only saw them play once this year, and that doesn't always tell the whole story," New Castle coach Luann Grybowski "I was impressed. They are well-coached and tough, and they never backed down."

Mt. Pleasant was able to cut New Castle's lead to 13 points as Kelsey Porter led the way with 12 points in the second half. Shelby Way also came up with a 10-point night, but the Lady Vikings could never get into an offensive rhythm partly because of New Castle's defense and partly because of their own lackluster shooting performance. Mt. Pleasant hit just 17 of 50 shots.

"They surprised me because I expected them to come with pressure, and they played a 2-3 zone and forced us to shoot," Giacobbi said. "It turned out to be a good decision by them because we didn't shoot particularly well."

Despite having a poor shooting night and bowing out of the WPIAL playoffs, the Lady Vikings' season may not be over.

Mt. Pleasant will qualify for the upcoming state tournament if New Castle beats South Park in the next round.

"I told the girls that they have everything to be proud of," Giacobbi said. "We played, according to the WPIAL, the best team in the tournament and had a chance to win. Now we're hoping that they continue to play through."

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