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By Nate Ritchey
nritchey@altoonamirror.com
BLAIRSVILLE -- Central knew from the opening tip exactly what kind of game it was in for.
River Valley's defense suffocated the Lady Scarlet Dragons into 24 turnovers, while it's offense seemingly didn't miss much whether from the outside or inside.
All that added up to a season-ending 58-29 loss for Central in the District 6 Class 3A quarterfinals.
"Their (River Valley) pressure set the tone for sure," Central coach Blake Over said. "You're used to playing regular season games and when the playoffs get here, you're allowed to play a little bit more. There's a little more contact and we weren't used to it."
Over and his staff knew that trying to limit the touches of River Valley's Ava Persichetti would be a big key to the game.
Central was hoping to force the rest of the Lady Panthers to knock down shots if it was going to win.
While Persichetti, who has nearly 1,600-points as a junior, managed just five of the 25 RV points in the opening stanza -- the rest of his teammates delivered.
"She's an outstanding player, and they (other teams) try to double her a lot," River Valley coach Richard Brown said. "So, when other players make their shots then it takes the double off of her."
Alessia LaMantia had 10 of her 14 points in the first quarter, while Emilee Staats and Rylee Kitner, who finished with 12, also knocked down on 3-pointer apiece.
"Unfortunately, for us tonight, their players who weren't Ava, hit everything they shot," Over said. "We came out and said that we were going to make someone else beat us. LaMantia came out and hit two 3's right away, and took us out of our game plan. Our wheels spun from there."
With the hot River Valley outside shooting, Central had to play them for the deep shot -- opening up the inside for face cuts and backdoor cuts that led to more easy baskets for the Panthers.
While Central's own defense struggled to find the right rhythm, the offense barely had time or room to run a set as River Valley forced nine turnovers in the opening eight minutes as the Lady Dragons managed just seven points in trailing 25-7 after the first stanza.
"We wanted to speed them (Central) up so they couldn't run their offense," Brown said. "We just looked for tips and offset what they wanted to do basically."
In the second, Persichetti, who scored a game-high 24 points, took advantage of single coverage as she delivered nine of the 15 River Valley points.
Central began to settle down and was only outscored 15-12 but six more turnovers plagued the visitors, including a few unforced, as the tone had been set.
Megan Diehl, who shared team honors with Morgan Knepp by scoring nine points, had seven of them in the second quarter as Central entered the half down 40-19.
"We run a lot of ball screens and they (River Valley) were hedging hard," Over said. "Our girls just couldn't handle it tonight."
There were a few times in the third where it looked like River Valley would kick the mercy-rule into effect but the Lady Dragons continued to battle hard despite the extremely steep uphill climb.
The Lady Panthers finally reached the 30-point lead at 5:04 of the fourth when Kitner made a layup to make the score 56-26.
Central, which ends the season at 11-12, said goodbye to six seniors including starters: Diehl, Knepp, Brayln Ellis and Mackenzie Rhykerd as well as Lacey Ripka and Kaylee Scott.
River Valley, moving to 19-6, advanced to Monday's semifinal to face Westmont Hilltop, a 47-14 winner over Penns Valley, at 7 p.m.
CENTRAL (29): Diehl 2 4-4 9, Benton 0 0-0 0, Rhykerd 1 0-0 2, Knepp 2 4-7 9, Ellis 2 1-2 6, Dickson 1 0-0 3, Imes 0 0-0 0, Poet 0 0-2 0. Totals: 8 9-15 29
RIVER VALLEY (58): Persichetti 9 3-3 24, Staats 1 1-2 4, Foust 1 0-0 2, LaMantia 6 0-0 14, R. Kitner 5 1-2 12, K. Kitner 0 0-0 0, Dunlap 0 0-0 0, Cole 1 0-0 2, Reaugh 0 0-0 0, Artley 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 5-7 58.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Central 7 12 7 3 -- 29
River Valley 25 15 12 6 -- 58
3-point field goals: Central 4 (Diehl, Knepp, Ellis, Dickson); River Valley 7 (Persichetti 3, LaMantia 2, Staats, R. Kitner).
Records: Central (11-12); River Valley (19-6).