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By Dave Mackall
For the Mirror
GREENSBURG -- Bellwood-Antis has been here in girls basketball before. The Blue Devils, with Kyley Longo serving as an assistant coach, won back-to-back PIAA titles in 2018 and '19 and reached the semifinals in 2022, losing to Neshannock.
Reappearing in the state tournament Friday night, their storyline this season included a simple ending -- they were no match for Pennsylvania's second-ranked Class 2A team.
Erica Gribble scored 20 points and Mya Morgan added 16 to lead Greensburg Central Catholic to a 59-27 rout of Bellwood-Antis and into the second round against West Middlesex on Tuesday.
"We've been in their shoes, too," Longo, now the head coach, said, referring to GCC. "We've seen both ends of that spectrum. We've seen that success and some of these kids have been a part of that. A lot of our kids are young, and we're just figuring it out as we go."
WPIAL champion Greensburg Central Catholic (21-6) did a lot of talking on its home court, but it had nothing to do with trash.
The Centurions were in sync for a first-round PIAA Class 2A test that resulted in another impressive performance.
Just ask GCC coach Chris Skatell.
"We talked and communicated well on defense, and that made a big difference," he said. "The talking was big for us, and these girls are pretty good at it."
GCC, which won for the fifth time in a row, is hoping to exceed an already-stellar season in 2023 that saw the Centurions reach the semifinals.
The next step comes against District 10 third-place finisher West Middlesex, a 38-36 first-round winner over District 9 runner-up Moniteau.
"We just know how to work together well," Morgan said. "We know the style of play we each have, and we work that in together. There's times in the game when, for example, I'll know what Erica is going to do and I'm already looking for her. When she or any of the others finish, it ends up being a good pass and we get a good assist out of it."
That was the theme in their latest encounter. The Centurions had their way with Bellwood-Antis, the fourth-place team from District 6.
"We're working with our elementary program that runs from kindergarten to grade 12," Longo said. "We give our kids a lot of opportunities, and they work hard. We've got a great class that's leaving us, great teammates, and we're going to miss them a lot. But we have some kids ready to step into leadership roles, and I'm excited to see where we go."
Bellwood-Antis (15-11) started just two seniors this season. Against GCC, sophomore Lilly Gerwert led the Blue Devils with 11 points.
"When you watch them on film, you know they're well-coached, and when you see them in person, they are," Skatell said. "I knew they'd play hard by just by watching (Longo) coach."
Greensburg Central Catholic finished the first quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 17-5 lead and scored the first basket of the second quarter to increase its advantage before Bellwood-Antis scored the next seven points and got within 19-12.
But that was as close as the Blue Devils got. GCC enjoyed a 24-12 lead at halftime.
The Centurions put the game out of reach by opening the third on a 16-1 run to surge to a 40-13 lead. Their biggest margin came near the end of the game, when they led by 35 points (59-24).
"Nerves probably got the best of us," Longo said. "Gribble, obviously, is a great player. We know she's gotten a lot of college looks. And I was very impressed with Morgan, who is big, strong kid. It's obvious their players have a very high basketball IQ and they have a lot of kids that can score."
BELLWOOD-ANTIS (27): C. Hammond 3 0-0 8, Clapper 0 1-4 1, Gerwert 4 3-4 11, Norton 0 2-4 2, Quick 1 0-0 3, Cacciotti 1 0-0 2, Bardell 0 0-0 0, Waite 0 0-0 0, Gummo 0 0-0 0, P. Hammond 0 0-0 0, Campbell 0 0-0 0, Worthing 0 0-0 0, Hassler 0 0-0 0, McNelis 0 0-0 0, Dickinson 0 0-0 0, Wagner 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 9 6-12 27.
GREENSBURG CENTRAL CATHOLIC (59): Morgan 6 1-2 16, Gribble 9 0-0 20, Davis 1 0-0 2, Peterson 4 0-0 9, Dupilka 3 0-0 7, Dlugos 2 1-4 5, Althof 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0, Fischer 0 0-0 0, Skoloda 0 0-0 0, Lim 0 0-0 0, Stowovy 0 0-0 0. Totals — 25 2-6 59.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bellwood-Antis 5 7 7 8 — 27
Greensburg CC 17 7 18 17 — 59
3-point goals: Bellwood-Antis 3 (Hammond 2, Quick); Greensburg CC 7 (Morgan 3, Gribble 2, Peterson, Dupilka).
Records: Bellwood-Antis (15-11); Greensburg CC (21-6).