Blackhawk Girls Win Third PIAA AAA Championship
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Sunday, March 23, 2014 | 7:05 AM
The Blackhawk Cougars used a dominant third quarter to claim their first PIAA girls Class AAA title since 2000 and third in school history by defeating Archbishop Wood 51-43 at the Giant Center on Saturday night. Chassidy Omogrosso scored 26 points and allowed the Cougars to stay in the game in the first half.
Blackhawk trailed 16-13 after one, Omogrosso hit a jumper at the buzzer to keep it a three point game. Halle Denman took over the scoring in the second, with a layup, two free throws and a key steal late in the half, the Cougars trailed 27-23 at the break.
Archbishop Wood turned the ball over four times in the third, scoring only 4 points. Blackhawk had a 13-4 advantage in the quarter, turning a 4 point deficit into a 5 point lead at 36-31. Omogrosso scored in the paint, then nailed a three to give Blackhawk the lead for good. Denman got on the board again with two more free throws, she finished 9 of 12 from the line on the night. The Vikings went 4:35 without scoring in the period, going 0-6 during the stretch and committing 2 turnovers, Archbishop Wood had 13 for the game.
The Vikings got no closer than 3 points during the entire fourth quarter, Archbishop Wood was 0 for 8 from outside the arc in the second half. Omogrosso and Denman combined to go 7 of 8 at the line in the final 90 seconds to seal the deal and make the WPIAL 3 for 3 on the girls side for the weekend.
Omogrosso, only a junior, added 3 steals and was a perfect 8 of 8 from the line. Denman scored 13 points and led the Cougars with 8 rebounds and 4 steals. Blackhawk was 14 of 42 for 33 percent from the field, with two three-pointers. The Cougars made the night at the line, going 21 of 24, Blackhawk turned the ball over just 6 times, three in each half.
Blackhawk finishes 28-2, the WPIAL champions won 13 straight games. The Cougars’ only losses came to Central Valley in the first half of section play and Class AA WPIAL and PIAA champion Seton LaSalle.
Archbishop Wood was led by Bailey Greenburg with 15 points, Aubree Brown scored 10, both had 6 rebounds. Laura Trisch scored only 5 points but led the way with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. Jenn Kaminski dished out 6 assists. The Vikings were 18 of 50 for the game shooting for 36 percent, including 4 trifectas, all coming in the first half. Archbishop Wood was 3 of 9 from the stripe, the Vikings did win the battle of the boards 36-29. The District 12 champions finish 26-4, seeing a five game winning streak come to an end.
Score by Quarters:
Blackhawk Cougars : 13 – 10 – 13 – 15 = 51
Archbishop Wood Vikings : 16 – 11 – 4 – 12 = 43
Tags: Blackhawk
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