Dramatic win vaults Neshannock into first place




It was, as Neshannock High girls basketball coach Luann Grybowski called it, "just a great game."

Defense came to the forefront in the Lady Lancers' 32-29 WPIAL Section 1-AA victory over visiting Mohawk on Thursday night.

The win, coupled with Riverside's 56-45 loss to Beaver Falls, puts Neshannock (7-1 section 13-2 overall), alone in first place in the section. The Lady Panthers are now 7-2 and the Lady Warriors are 6-3.

Riverside, Neshannock and Mohawk all have secured WPIAL Class AA playoff berths.

Ally Zarilla and Carmie Matarazzo led the Lady Lancers with nine points each. Aliya Gage and Erin Giancola scored 11 apiece for Mohawk.

Neshannock was playing without two starters in Stephanie Paras and Bella Burrelli. Paras reinjured the shoulder she previously had surgery on in a game against Wilmington over the weekend. Burrelli is under concussion protocol after an injury last week against Beaver Falls.

Neshannock trailed 5-0 after one quarter — the first time that Grybowski recalls her team being shut out for an entire quarter during her lengthy coaching career.

"But that also means that we only gave up five points, which was pretty impressive," she said.

The Lady Lancers played much of the game in foul trouble. Regan Moorhouse fouled out and both Matarazzo and Aidan Noga finished with four.

Matarazzo had six rebounds and four steals, Zarilla and Caitlyn Benson five rebounds each. Noga and Zarilla had three steals apiece.

With 50 seconds left and the score tied 28-28, Neshannock held for the last shot. With 15 seconds remaining, Noga connected on a pass to Matarazzo, who found the mark on a shot from the block to put the Lady Lancers up 30-28.

Gage was fouled and hit one of two free throws, Hannah Haswell got the rebound and was fouled, but it was only Neshannock's sixth foul. The Lady Lancers got the ball out of bounds and Zarilla was fouled with 2.1 seconds left and hit both free throws to seal the win.

"It was really a battle, but it's always a good game when these two teams play," Grybowski said. "Their kids played hard, our kids played hard, but we were able to pull it out. I'm just so proud of our young kids. They really stepped up tonight."