Saturday's Roundup

Indiana girls beat Cathedral Prep to advance to second round of state tournament

Defense travels.

Indiana took its defense to Erie and shut down Cathedral Prep in the opening round of the PIAA Class 5A girls’ basketball tournament on Saturday afternoon.

Indiana held District 10 champion Cathedral Prep to single digits in the first three quarters and pulled away in the fourth for a 46-34 victory.

The Indians (22-5) advanced into a rematch with Baldwin (22-5), which handed Indiana a 41-37 loss at home in the WPIAL fifth-place game on Feb. 24. Baldwin beat Middletown (24-2), the District 3 runner-up, 67-60, on Saturday.

Indiana led 10-8 after the first quarter and 19-16 at halftime. The Indians took a four-point lead at 27-23 into the fourth quarter.

Then Indiana buried Cathedral Prep (20-4) at the free throw line, sinking 14 of 16 attempts during a 19-11 quarter. Addy Hutton led the free throw parade by going 6-for-7.

Indiana finished 17-for-22 overall behind Hutton, who was 9-for-10 and scored 15 points, and Laken Kugler, who was 6-for-7.

Julia Antonacci scored seven of her game-high 17 points in the quarter, which she started with a 3-pointer.

Seana Thrower scored 10 points for Cathedral Prep.

Indiana and Baldwin play Wednesday at a site to be determined.

Indiana (22-5)
Martin 2 0-0 6, Antonacci 6 2-2 17, Ferraro 0 1-4 1, Kugler 1 5-6 7, Hutton 3 9-10 15, Totals 12 17-22 46
Cathedral Prep (20-4)
Orlando 0 0-0 0, Thrower 3 2-3 10, Nies 3 1-2 8, Spano 4 0-0 9, Washburn 2 0-0 4, Brzezinski 1 1-1 3, Totals 13 4-6 34
Indiana 10 9 8 19 — 46
Cathedral Prep 8 8 7 11 — 34
3-point field goals: Indiana 5 (Antonacci 3, Martin 2), Cathedral Prep 4 (Thrower 2, Nies, Spano).

BOYS
TRINITY 78, RIVER VALLEY 42: River Valley came out hot but couldn’t sustain it in a loss to Trinity in the first round of the Class 3A boys’ state tournament.

River Valley hit four 3-point field goals in the first quarter and forged an 18-18 tie against the No. 2-ranked team in the state, but Trinity pulled away during a 29-8 second quarter and cruised into the second round.

“That was by far the biggest and most athletic team we played all year,” River Valley coach Rick Spallone said. “We didn’t rebound as well as we should’ve and that led to numerous putbacks. You can’t let a team get that many easy buckets and expect to win.”

Max Persichetti, a junior guard, led River Valley with a game-high 17 points on the strength of four of his team’s eight 3-pointers. Seniors Jeremy Reed and Jake Pynos scored eight points apiece and accounted for the other 3s.

Marcus Yeager, a 6-foot-4 senior, scored 15 points for Trinity. Andre Steele followed with 14 and Nike Craig added 13.

“I’m proud of the effort. We accomplished a lot this season,” Spallone said. “But there are only six teams in the state whose season won’t end in a loss. And we have to take pride that we ended up being able to make the state tournament.”

River Valley finished the season 18-9. The Panthers won the Heritage Conference West and lost to United in the conference championship game, which set off a string of postseason matchups against the top teams in the state.

“We had a crazy two weeks,” Spallone said. “Even going back to the United game, we played the No. 4 team in the state in Double-A and the second, third and 10th-ranked teams in Triple-A with Guilfoyle, Westmont then Trinity.”

Trinity advanced to play Mohawk (24-2) in the second round.

River Valley (18-9)
Persichetti 5 3-4 17, McDowell 2 2-2 4, N.Mortimer 0 0-0 0, Reed 2 2-3 8, Pynos 3 0-0 8, Reilly 0 1-2 1, Dinger 0 0-0 0, Brezinski 0 0-0 0, Torres 0 0-0 0, Doak 1 0-1 2, Twinchek 0 0-0 0, McDivitt 0 0-0 0, Totals 13 8-12 42
Trinity (21-2)
Steele 6 0-0 14, Felician 1 0-2 2, Craig 5 3-6 13, Yeager 7 1-5 15, Smith 3 2-2 9, Kerstetter 0 2-2 2, Sexton 3 2-2 8, Clinkscale 2 0-0 4, Reider 3 0-0 6, Lewis 1 0-0 2, Totals 31 10-19 78
River Valley 18 8 7 9 — 42
Trinity 18 29 21 10 — 78
3-point field goals: River Valley 8 (Persichetti 4, Reed 2, Pynos 2), Trinity 4 (Steele 2, Yeager, Smith).

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Class 5A Girls
Indiana 46, Cathedral Prep 34
Class 3A Boys
Trinity 78, River Valley 42
Class 2A Boys
United 65, Neshannock 36
Jeannette 72, Northern Cambria 34
OLSH 47, Conemaugh Township 35