Avonworth's Marissa Milbert is fouled during second quarter action against South Fayette in a PIAA quarterfinal game played last Friday. The ‘Lopes led throughout and hung on to win 40-35 to advance to the semifinals to face Villa Maria on Tuesday, March 23. The Lady ‘Lopes fell 65-38, but made their mark in the record books. Photo by Tom Steiner for The Citizen

By JIM RUMBLE

It's pretty well known in sports that the further you move along in the playoff process the tougher the competition.

That was what the Avonworth girls’ basketball team came to realize when they squared off with defending PIAA champion and currently ranked #1 team in the state, Villa Maria, in a semifinal game played at Meadville high school this past Tuesday.

The 'Lopes, an accomplished team themselves, faced their most talented opponent this season and fell to the Victors 65-38.

"We just ran into a buzz saw," said coach Bob Schulz after the game.

"They returned six players from last year and they shot the ball well even with good players coming in off the bench," he added.

It was a game the 'Lopes would have had to play almost flawlessly, but Avonworth was forced into 20 turnovers on the night.

In the first quarter, Tara Gallupe scored on a drive to the hoop that answered Villa's game-opening basket from the perimeter, but the Victors responded with another score from the outside to lead 4-2.

Catherine Costa knocked down a three-pointer to give the 'Lopes their only lead at 5-4. Villa countered with a 7-0 run, working the ball inside for an 11-5 lead with 1:34 left in the quarter.

Marissa Milbert's basket from the top of the key and a pair of free throws by Gallupe cut the lead to 11-9, but the Victors scored on a drive and then converted a steal at mid court for a score to take a 15-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Baskets by Gallupe and Lauren Mayernik inside offset a three-point play by Villa that had Avonworth trailing 18-13 early in the second quarter.

The Victors then took advantage of a couple of 'Lopes turnovers to put together a 7-0 run and lead 25-13 near the five minute mark of the period.

Costa and Gallupe added baskets, but Villa outscored Avonworth 10-4, including two three-pointers through the remainder of the quarter, to lead 35-17 at the half.

Villa came out on fire from the perimeter in the third quarter with three three-pointers fueling an 11-2 run that had the 'Lopes behind 46-19.

Three points by Mayernik and a pair of free throws by Gallupe allowed the Lady ‘Lopes to trim their deficit to 48-24 when the quarter ended.

Avonworth trailed 55-36 with 2:11 left in the fourth quarter when the Victors hit two more from beyond the arc in an 8-2 run to put the final score at 65-38.

Gallupe led Avonworth with 19 points, followed by Costa with 12, Mayernik with 5 and Milbert with 2.

Avonworth had advanced as a result of a 40-35 win against South Fayette in a quarterfinal game played on Friday, March 19.

The 'Lopes, who led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, saw their lead continue to dwindle until the Lions pulled even at 32-32 with 6:24 left in the game.

Avonworth was leading 37-35 when Gallupe was intentionally fouled with :08 left on the clock. She converted one of two shots, but the 'Lopes retained possession with the ruling on the intentional foul.

Natalie Zivic scored from underneath on the inbound play to secure the 40-35 win.

Mayernik had her best game offensively, leading the team with 16 points, followed by Costa with 7, Gallupe and Milbert with 5 each, Zivic with 4 and Molly Frew with 3.

Even though the season has ended it was an outstanding year for the Lady 'Lopes.

"It was a fantastic year -- the kids played great team basketball and with a lot of heart," Schulz said.

"Not many people would have predicted at the beginning of the year that we would have ended up here and I'm proud of what we've accomplished,” he said.

The 2009-10 Lady Lopes secured their place in school history as only the second team to reach the PIAA semifinals, after the 1991-92 team coached by Dave Williams.