Kennedy Catholic girls suffer semifinal defeat

The Eagles were outscored 18-5 over the final eight minutes and lost 53-39.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Serra Catholic, ranked No. 1 statewide, broke open a close game in the fourth quarter and defeated Kennedy Catholic 53-39 in the girls PIAA Class A Western final Wednesday night at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
Serra Catholic (28-1) led only 35-34 after three quarters but outscored the Golden Eagles 18-5 over the final eight minutes to advance to Saturday's state championship game against Marian Catholic.
Staci Menzies led Serra Catholic with 22 points, while Brittany Matta added 18.
Kendra Radkowski led Kennedy Catholic (24-5) with 19 points.
Serra will face Marian Catholic in the 1 p.m. game. Marian Catholic (30-3) earned its second trip to the final in three years with a 45-25 win over Nativity BVM (19-14). Jen Blasko led Marian Catholic with 14 points and Tricia McElmoyle added 12. Angela Antemose led Nativity with six points.
Class AAA
In Class AAA girls, Mercyhurst Prep (28-3) earned a return trip to the finals with a 60-27 domination of Lewistown (28-3). Mercyhurst Prep won the Class AAAA title last year, but dropped in classification after District 10's realignment.
Chelsea Gordon led Mercyhurst Prep with 20 points, while teammates Erin Kerner and Mashea Williams added 14 and 13, respectively.
Mercyhurst Prep, ranked No. 1 statewide, will face St. Basil in the Class AAA title game at 6 p.m.
St. Basil (27-4) earned its first title berth with 56-52 victory over Villa Maria (26-5). Allie Ferdorowicz led Saint Basil with 26 points, while Mandy Pennewell led Villa Maria with 15 points.
All-East final
Two teams from the Eastern half of the state will meet in the PIAA finals for the first time in the 85-year history of the tournament.
Chester and Lower Merion, both from District 1, advanced to the boys Class AAAA title game Saturday at 8 p.m.
Chester (26-6) earned its third trip to the Class AAAA title game with an 84-71 win over Wissahickon (25-8). Chester has won three titles since 1989. Noel Wilmore and Devon McLendon each scored 19 points for Chester.
Lower Merion (25-8) earned its first trip to the title game since 1996 with a 65-54 victory over Cathedral Prep (26-5). Lower Merion rallied from a six-point halftime deficit by outscoring Cathedral Prep 37-20 in the second half.
Garrett Williamson led Lower Merion with 22 points, while Ryan Brooks added 18. Cory Knight led Cathedral Prep with 22 points.
Class AA boys
In Class AA boys, Lance Jeter connected on two free throws with 5.3 seconds left to provide the deciding point in Beaver Falls' 58-57 win over Aliquippa. It was the fourth time the two teams played this season, and the second time in 17 days, and Beaver Falls won for the third time.
Jeter led Beaver Falls (28-3) with 18 points and connected on seven of eight free throws. Sjavante Gilliam led Aliquippa (24-8) with 25 points.
Beaver Falls will make its first title appearance since 1994 and will face unranked York Catholic in the 3 p.m. game.
York Catholic (25-8) earned its first title berth since winning back-to-back titles in 1978-1979 with a 64-55 win over Trinity (20-9) in a matchup of District 3 teams.
Jon Showers led York Catholic with 21 points and teammate Jacob Iati added 19. Trinity's Brian Morris led all scorers with 28 points.
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