WEST FOREST 51, MONITEAU 25

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Feb. 14, 2009 - KSAC Girls' Title Game

By Chris Rossetti

CLARION – The KSAC Girls’ Championship game was almost over before it started.

West  Forest used a 15-0 run in the game’s first six minutes to build a lead that never sank under nine points the rest of the way on its way to its first KSAC Title and its first conference championship of any kind since 1992 with a 51-25 win over Moniteau Saturday afternoon at Clarion High School.

“It’s a championship,” West Forest’s 30-year head coach Bob Wachob said. “Championships are always good. We’ve won (conference) championships a lot in the past, but this is the first one for this group. As good as last year was (West Forest finished second in District 9 and advanced to the PIAA playoffs for the first time since 1982), this group of players didn’t get a chance to win a championship. So it’s nice to get this for this group of players.”

Free-throw shooting was a big factor in West Forest taking its first conference title since winning the T.C.A.C. Class A League in 1992. The Lady Indians scored as many points from the line, 25, as Moniteau scored for the game. West Forest was 25 of 30 from the free-throw line, and Moniteau was 2 of 4 with the Lady Indians earning most of those trips with great dribble-drive penetration.

The foul shooting, as with the scoring, was well balanced for West Forest. Alyssa Dreihaup led the way scoring 14 points including 6 of 8 from the line, while Geena Sneeringer had 13 points including 7 of 8 from the line. Erica Blum and Amanda Carll each chipped in with 10 points with Blum going 6 of 8 from the line and Carll 4 of 4.

“The last time we played them in December, four of our players either didn’t score or only scored a couple of points,” Wachob said. “We were trying for more balance today.”

West Forest also hit the boards strong outrebounding Moniteau 40-25 with Dreihaup completing a double-double with 10 rebounds, Carll adding eight and Sneeringer seven. Sneeringer also had four steals.

“It was real important to get out to the good start, especially after last night (West Forest had to beat Cranberry Friday night in the KSAC-North Title game to even reach Saturday’s game while Moniteau had won the KSAC-South in the regular season and didn’t have to play Friday),” Wachob said. “But I never have to worry about how much this team will try.”

Moniteau tried to overcome the slow start and in fact cut the 15-point lead to 11, 25-14, at halftime before slicing it to nine, 25-16, on a Maura McCaslin basket 45 seconds into the second half. But West Forest responded with a 14-4 run that including five points off turnovers and a 9 of 10 effort from the line to take a 39-20 lead after three quarters.

“You could see the girls get so tired in the second quarter,” Wachob said. “You could see it in their legs. At halftime, I told them to ask for a second win and they go it. Everyone contributed.”

West Forest shot just 29.2 percent (12 of 41) for the game but used the free-throw shooting and a strong defense to still get the blowout. The Lady Indians held Moniteau to 23.3 percent (10 of 43) from the field while forcing 18 turnovers including 11 steals.

“Our defense was awesome today,” Wachob said. “And I don’t use that word very often.”

McCaslin was the lone Moniteau player in double figures with 12 points, while Alex Guercio added eight tallies.

Both teams return to action in the District 9 playoffs. West Forest will take on the winner of the Clarion at North Clarion game at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Class A quarterfinals, while Moniteau will face Kane at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24 in the Class AA semifinals at Clarion High School.

WEST FOREST 51, MONITEAU 25

Score by Quarters

Moniteau 4 10 6 5 – 25

West Forest 15 10 14 12 – 51

Moniteau – 25

Jaryn Beatty 0 0-0 0, Alex Guercio 3 2-3 8, Jenna McCorry 1 0-0 3, Kathleen Harding 1 0-0 2, Maura McCaslin 5 0-0 12, Chelsea Say 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Seller 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 2-4 25.

West Forest – 51

Geena Sneeringer 3 7-8 13, Rachel Greathouse 1 2-2 4, Alyssa Dreihaup 3 6-8 14, Erica Blum 2 6-8 10, Amanda Carll 3 4-4 10, Grace Wallace 0 0-0 0, Hilary Clark 0 0-0 0, Larissa Schwab 0 0-0 0, Missy Dubrawka 0 0-0 0, Tricia Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 25-30 51.

Three-pointers – Moniteau 3 (McCaslin 2, McCorry). West Forest 2 (Dreihaup 2).