BUTLER, PA. Kennedy's run comes to end

The Golden Eagle girls were overcome by Monessen in the Pennsylvania state quarterfinals.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BUTLER, Pa. -- The Kennedy Catholic High dream of repeat dual basketball championships was shattered Saturday thanks to a sensational sophomore from south of Pittsburgh.
Limited to one first-half basket, Monessen's Charel Allen sparked the Greyhounds with an 18-point second half and a 51-40 victory over the defending Pennsylvania Class A champions.
Overcoming the odds: "To get this far into the playoffs after losing five seniors, we've accomplished a lot," said Kennedy coach Pat Mastrian after the Golden Eagles lost the Western Pennsylvania state semifinal game at Butler High School. "[Losing] is very difficult.
"That's what is the hardest for [our players] right now because they were the champions and they wanted so hard to get back [to Hershey]," Mastrian said.
Allen said the Greyhounds (25-4) began the game "relaxed because we were the underdogs and everyone expected us to lose."
That relaxed mood had the Golden Eagles (24-6) on the ropes almost immediately. Five different Greyhounds scored as Monessen took a 13-2 lead.
Kennedy opened the game with four turnovers and one missed shot on the first five possessions.
"Their quickness at the beginning of the game kind of surprised our girls," Mastrian said. "I'm not sure if we were ready for that [speed]. We had talked about it, but it seemed we were caught flat-footed for a while."
Rally: Trailing 18-9 early in the second quarter, Kennedy began playing like champions, pressuring the Greyhounds into numerous mistakes during a 12-0 run that featured 3-pointers by senior Leanne Madden and junior Lauren Friedrich.
The Golden Eagles went to the locker room at halftime leading 23-19 and Mastrian wasn't surprised.
"We've shown all year that we can come back from those types of situations," Mastrian said.
Despite the second-half turnaround, Monessen coach Major Corley said his team wasn't deflated.
"We didn't lose our composure," Corley said. "We're young so we don't know how to lose our composure."
Monessen started three sophomores, a junior and a senior.
Foul trouble: Early in the third quarter, Kennedy senior Carla Mastrian was sent to the bench after picking up her third personal foul.
With Mastrian seated, the Golden Eagles' 26-23 lead evaporated as Allen scored 10 of the game's next 12 points.
"In the first half, it seemed like I couldn't hardly do anything," Allen said. "Coach told me to stop passing and start shooting, so I did."
Once ahead, Corley said Allen's mission "is to take control of the game. I don't want to take anything away from Kennedy because they are a very good team, but I haven't really seen anybody stop her yet.
"Once we get the lead, you have to chase us," Corley said. "And if you have to chase us, we are a very dangerous team because we can score easy buckets."
Friedrich connected on a baseline 3-pointer to cut the Monessen lead to 35-31 going into the fourth quarter.
But that was as close as the Golden Eagles would get as Monessen scored the first six points of the final quarter and nursed a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
In preparation: Corley's scouting report said Kennedy favors 3-pointers "so we pushed our zone out further and told our big girl [Natalie Deicas] that she wasn't going to get any help, that she would have to play the middle by herself."
Friedrich and Madden led the Golden Eagles with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Nychole Whitlock netted 11 for Monessen, which advanced to the western final for the first time since 1991.
Corley admitted he's pleasantly shocked.
"After we lost in the WPIAL semifinals, nobody thought we would win [another postseason] game. I'm surprised, but our girls are young and are just having fun."
williams@vindy.com