Basketball

Lady Devils fall in PIAA semifinals, but create their own legacy

KITTANNING -- Bellwood-Antis senior Jaidyn McCracken did her best to keep her composure following the Lady Blue Devils' season-ending 61-53 loss to Neshannock in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals Friday night at Armstrong High School.

Though some of the tears she shed were from the sadness of missing out on Bellwood's third trip to Hershey in five years by just eight points, most of them came from how proud she was of her team getting to that point.

"This meant the world," McCracken said. "We had a lot of doubters at the start of the season. They said we were too small, too young and said we couldn't get far. Here we were standing one game away from playing for the state title at the Giant Center. That's big for us and our team, and they are going to do big things next season."

None of the current Lady Blue Devils played a major role in Bellwood's back-to-back state championships in 2018 and 2019, and only junior Chelsea McCaulsky played a lot during the team's 2020 run to the state quarterfinals before COVID-19 shut down the PIAA tournament. But that didn't stop this group from putting its own legacy together.

"I think our program builds tough kids," Bellwood-Antis coach Jim Swaney said. "But they are hurting right now. For us, it's tough to say goodbye to our two seniors. Abby Watters has been a good friend to everyone on this team and a heck of a teammate for four years, and we would not be playing here today if it wasn't for Jaidyn McCracken. She and Chelsea are our heart and soul, and she played that way tonight."

McCaulsky had a team-high 13 points, Chloe Hammond scored 11 points, McCracken and Leigha Clapper each scored 10 points, and Lydia Worthing finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.

But foul trouble, especially to Clapper and Worthing, doomed Bellwood-Antis.

Clapper picked up three fouls before the half and her fourth in the third quarter, leaving the Lady Blue Devils without one of their top offensive threats.

"(Not having Clapper on the floor) hurt a lot," Swaney said. "She got a little dinged up last night in practice, and we weren't sure until this afternoon that she was going to be able to go. She really gutted it out, and I think that contributed to maybe some of her fouls because she was a step slow getting there."

Worthing fouled out with Bellwood-Antis down 41-36 and 5:28 to play.

"Lydia's fouls were because we were allowing too much penetration," Swaney said. "We were putting her on an island where she was trying to help on the penetration."

Much of Neshannock's penetration can be attributed to its team speed, an area where Bellwood-Antis often holds the advantage.

"They are fast, but we're fast too," Neshannock coach Luann Grybowski said. "They are probably the fastest team we have played all year, and they were tough defensively. My hat is off to them. They did a really nice job, but we were able to pound the ball inside, and I think that's what made the difference and got them into foul trouble."

Megan Pallerino had 16 points, and Abbi Watts had 14 points to lead the Lady Lancers, who clinched their second straight trip to Hershey. They will play District 4 champion Southern Columbia, a 50-46 winner over Mount Carmel Friday night in the other semifinal.

Neshannock went up by six following a Pallerino free throw when Worthing fouled out and pulled outside to hold the ball for most of its possessions the rest of the game.

"I told them we needed to be up six to do it," Grybowski said. "We did, and we usually make our free throws. We missed some tonight, but we made enough. These kids were so focused. They knew they wanted to get back to Hershey and worked their butts off all year."

Swaney credited Neshannock's offensive depth and said he was happy with how Bellwood guarded the Lancers' top scorers but that Watts and Pallerino surprised him.

"We probably bailed them out a few times on their drives," Swaney said. "We could have taken some charges, but again, that could be our youth. Neshannock is a veteran team with a lot of kids back, and they played like that tonight."

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (53): McCaulsky 3 6-7 13, McCracken 3 4-6 10, Worthing 4 0-0 8, Hammond 4 1-2 11, Clapper 3 2-2 10, Partner 0 1-2 1, Quick 0 0-0 0, Norton 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 17 14-19 53.

NESHANNOCK (61): N. Nogay 3 4-7 10, Watts 5 2-4 14, A. Nogay 3 0-0 7, Pallerino 4 8-11 16, Haggerty 4 2-4 12, Cole 0 0-0 0, Newman 0 2-4 2. Totals -- 19 18-30 61.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellwood-Antis 11 12 9 21 -- 53

Neshannock 14 14 9 24 -- 61

3-point goals: Bellwood-Antis 5 (Clapper 2, Hammond 2, McCaulsky); Neshannock 5 (Haggerty 2, Watts 2, A. Nogay)

Records: Bellwood-Antis (24-7); Neshannock (28-2)

Officials: Kristin Stiglitz, James Lambert, Bobbie Freeman