Gators gunning for second section win Thursday in key matchup with Oakland Catholic

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 9, 2018 | 10:38 PM

The Gateway girls basketball team plays a key Section 2-5A game Thursday at Oakland Catholic.

The winner between the Gators (1-1) and the Eagles (2-1) will keep pace in the section with first-place Thomas Jefferson (3-0).

The Gateway players also will face former teammate Cierra Christian, a 5-foot-10 guard/forward, for the first time.

Christian was a key contributor last year to the Gators' 17-7 overall record, its 6-4 mark in section play and a run to the WPIAL quarterfinals before a heartbreaking 58-54 loss to No. 2 Trinity.

Trinity lost in the WPIAL semifinals but made it all the way to the PIAA finals before falling to Archbishop Wood.

Oakland Catholic lost its first section game Monday, 58-45 at Thomas Jefferson.

The Gators fell to the Jaguars, 37-33, on Dec. 21. The game was tied at halftime before Thomas Jefferson used a 13-4 run in the third quarter to seize momentum.

Jordan Edwards, a Niagara recruit, scored 10 points in that game. She scored a team-best 12 points in a 44-39 victory over Woodland Hills on Jan. 8 that got Gateway in the win column for the first time in section play.

Junior Mary Kromka added 10 points for the Gators, who rallied past the Wolverines by owning the second half 31-19.

Thomas Jefferson, Oakland Catholic and Gateway all are in the top five in the latest Tribune-Review 5A rankings.

The Jaguars (10-2) are the top-ranked team, Oakland Catholic (6-3) is No. 2 and Gateway (8-2) is No. 4.

WPIAL 5A is turning out to be a deep classification overall, and there could be a lot of movement in the rankings over the next month leading to the playoffs.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Gateway