By RON PONIEWASZ JR.
rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com

MOON TOWNSHIP — The Neshannock High girls basketball team ran into a buzzsaw last night.

A first-quarter surge propelled Seton-La Salle to a 54-22 victory over the Lady Lancers in the opening round of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs at Moon High School.

“We knew we had to play a perfect game to beat them,” said first-year Neshannock coach Luann Grybowski. “Seton-La Salle is a very good basketball team and we knew that.

“We didn’t get to the rim on the dribble-drive and that hurt us.”

The fourth-seeded Lady Rebels (18-5) will meet Sto-Rox (17-4), a 43-27 winner over Washington, on Friday at a time and site to be announced.

Neshannock (13-9), which never led, got to within 5-3 on a 3-pointer by Chelsea Kauffman with 4:51 remaining in the opening quarter. However, Seton-La Salle closed the frame on a 15-2 run for a 20-5 advantage.

“We took a chance by going zone and they shot lights out,” Grybowski said. “Everybody on their team was hitting on all cylinders and we knew it could happen.”

Ericka Warvell netted six of her nine points in the second quarter on a pair of 3-pointers. Her points were all the 20th-seeded Lady Lancers could manage in the stanza to trail 36-11 at the break.

“They’re a very good basketball team,” Warvell said of Seton-La Salle. “We just couldn’t match up with them and it was hard to get anything going against their intense pressure.”

The closest Neshannock got in the second quarter was 17 points (28-11) on Warvell’s second 3-pointer with 4:50 to go in the opening half. Seton-La Salle scored the next 13 points for a 41-11 margin in the third period.

Kauffman also netted nine points for Neshannock, four of which came in the fourth quarter on foul shots.

“Ericka, Chelsea, our whole team played hard,” Grybowski said. “We were overmatched athleticly, but not in terms of heart.”

Katie Gattuso, a Niagara recruit, fired in a game-best 18 points for the Lady Rebels. But Angela Heintz, who was next with nine markers, caught Grybowski’s attention.

“She was the best player out there for them, there’s no two ways about it,” Grybowski said. “She hit shots, she defended, she passed the ball well — she did it all.”

There are no seniors on Neshannock’s roster. The Lady Lancers won nine consecutive games late in the season to secure a playoff spot.

“I like the fact we’ll have our entire roster back,” said Grybowski, who took the job in mid-July. “The good thing from this game is you get to see what your team has to work on.

“We had a great year and we made great progress throughout the year. I couldn’t have scripted the season to go any better than what it did.”

Said Warvell, “We made great strides this year and we should do even better next year. We will be more comfortable and we’ll know what to expect from coach G.”

Neshannock finished tied for third in Section 2-AA action, but settled for fourth because Mohawk swept the season series. Beaver, which won the section title and is coached by former Neshannock bench boss Greg Huston, will move up to Class AAA next year and Beaver Falls will join Section 2-AA.

“The section will have a little bit of a different look next year,” Grybowski said. “Beaver Falls coming in won’t be any favor to us. But my expectations for this team will be even greater for next season.”