NA joins elite club with win

championship with a 79-48 win at Petersen Events Center.

With the victory, North Allegheny (25-0) became only the 14th girls team to win a WPIAL title with an undefeated record. It was the team’s third title overall. Peters Township (21-4) fell short of winning its first championship. Allegheny

North showed why it’s ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 20 nationally by USA Today by dominating a team it beat by only 13 points less than a month ago. The 31-point margin of victory was the largest ever in the WPIAL’s largest class.

Statistics don’t always tell the story, but, in this case, they actually did.

• North Allegheny shot 57 percent from the field, making 28 of 49 shots. Freshman Lizzie Groetsch connected on 7 of 8 shots and finished with 18 points.

• The Tigers like to shoot the ball from the perimeter, and they were knocking them down with regularity Saturday, finishing 9 of 23 from beyond the arc. Courtney Roman made four of them.

• One of Peters Township’s biggest strengths is rebounding, a category in which North Allegheny held a 37-21 advantage.

• North Allegheny did an excellent job of taking care of the ball, turning it over just once in the first half and six times over the full game.

What was the biggest difference? Kendall pointed to the disparity in rebounds as being his team’s biggest downfall, while North Allegheny coach Spencer Stefko pointed to his team’s unselfishness and pinpoint marksmanship.

“It’s so enjoyable. They play the game right,” Stefko said. “You see how unselfish they are. I’ve got to be honest, I’d have to watch the film to find a bad shot that we took today.”

In addition to Groetsch, three other North Allegheny players scored in double figures. Piper Morningstar had 1 8 points, while Rachel Martin dale and Roman chipped in 13 each. Martindale left the game early in the fourth quarter with a leg injury and did not return.

Standout junior Makenna Marisa scored 25 points and kept Peters Township in the game early. Marisa poured in 13 consecutive Peters Township points during one stretch in the first half and the Indians trailed only 29-23. But North Allegheny closed the half on an 8-0 run, and Marisa was limited to four points in the third quarter. By the end of that quarter, the lead had ballooned to 62-34. Afterward, Stefko compared Marisa to former Hopewell star Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who now plays in the WNBA. “You can’t give her enough credit,” Stefko said. “To be able to play against her on a stage like this is an honor. For my money, she’s as good as anybody coming out of Western Pennsylvania since Shatori.” North Allegheny’s focus now turns to the PIAA playoffs, and that’s one title that eluded the Tigers last season. “We lost in the state championship last year, and now I think we’re ready for that one,” Martindale said. “We’re trying to get to the state championship and that’s our main goal.”