State College girls’ basketball’s comeback effort falls short in season-ending loss to North Allegheny

The State College Little Lady Lions basketball team saw its season come to an end Tuesday at the 5th Street Gym in Indiana.

Following a first quarter that was plagued with turnovers and sloppy defense, the Little Lions sought out a comeback victory against the District VII champion North Allegheny Tigers, only to get stopped short in the final frame and fall 51-38.

The game opened with a 14-0 scoring run by the Tigers that lasted more than seven minutes, with the only Little Lions bucket coming from senior Isabelle Leazier with 1:17 in the first quarter.

Rylie Gregg provided the spark on offense in the second quarter, as she contributed a mid-range jumper on offense and a steal immediately after. The Tiger turnover allowed senior Maya Bokunewicz an opportunity for a breakaway basket.

She would add two at the free-throw line following a shooting foul.

North Allegheny would put up an 11-6 scoring run following Bokunewicz’s conversion.

Senior forward Kat Balouris would add six while junior forward Paige Morningstar added five.

The Lions had difficulty transitioning on offense, finding open shots and giving up turnovers offensively which resulted with them trailing by 15 at the half.

“The first quarter allowed us to get the reps we needed,” State College coach Chris Leazier said. “And we have a group of fighters that said ‘We’re better than this’ at halftime.”

In the third quarter, State College’s Jada Coleman kicked the scoring off as she added two points within the first minute.

Coleman would remain low on the scoring column, but contributed to the defensive side as she contributed more than three steals.

“This has been a really cool opportunity for (Coleman),” Coach Leazier said. “She has improved steadily throughout the year and how disruptive she can be defensively due to her sheer athleticism.”

State College held North Allegheny to 10 points in the third quarter; however, the Lady Little Lions remained down by 15 heading into the fourth frame.

Bokunewicz and Leazier combined for the team’s 13 total points in the fourth quarter, and both played a pivotal role in the late rally.

Bokunewicz went 2-4 from the foul line within the first two minutes of the quarter, while also forcing the Tigers to turn the ball over and draw a shooting foul on the second trip.

She would also contribute another breakaway layup with 3:05 remaining.

“Once we got settled into the game, we were a bit startled by their pressure,” Bokunewicz said. “We figured out what we wanted to do offensively and defensively. That along with carrying the momentum as the game went on helped us on both sides.”

Leazier posted nine points and one 3-point field goal in the quarter.

“Besides the first quarter, we gained control,” she said. “Maya and I definitely contributed to our offensive production, but we made it a goal to get others involved too throughout.”

North Allegheny junior utility player Lizzy Groetsch would extend the Tiger lead by four as she put up four free throws within the final minute of play. This gave her 13 points on the day, the most on the team.

“I thought we did a great job and came out very tough,” Groetsch said. “They’re a great team and I thought we did a good job preparing for them. (State College) changed the defense up on us so we just worked around it and we had efficient production all around.”

Added Tigers coach Spencer Stefko: “We knew it was gonna be a dogfight. They brought some pressure for a couple of possessions, where we handled some of it well and others we didn’t, and that’s a credit to the team.”

He also credited conservative gameplay as a vital piece in the win.

“Spacing (out the offense) and taking care of the ball helped us become a very good team tonight,” he said.

Coach Leazier commended his team’s performance despite coming up short.

“We knew we were playing against a really good team,” he said. “And, while we won the last three quarters, it’s a four-quarter game.

“We knew that they would try to force turnovers and run us into traps. In the later quarters, we were able to break that. It just took us a bit to get our footing.”

North Allegheny will continue on in the state playoffs, playing Nazareth Friday in the quarterfinals.

North Allegheny 51, State College 38

(Tuesday at Indiana High School)

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 11:43 PM.