Another long layoff almost over for Greensburg Central Catholic girls

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, March 5, 2018 | 9:15 PM

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A few girls basketball players finished one practice Monday and headed for another inside a bustling school building at Greensburg Central Catholic.

Players grabbed gloves and fielded softballs hit by assistant coach Mike Gaffney, who also is a basketball assistant with the girls, in the school's lower-level auxiliary gymnasium.

Softball is just starting, but the basketball team isn't quite ready to make its final out.

The Centurions (12-11) open the PIAA Class 2A playoffs at 6:30 p.m. Friday against Bishop McCort (20-6) at Forest Hills High School in Sidman, just north of Johnstown.

“Here we are, back at it,” GCC basketball coach Joe Eisaman said.

GCC sat through an 11-day, first-round bye in the WPIAL playoffs before it lost to Serra Catholic, 53-39, in the quarterfinals. That was Feb. 22.

Playoff games will bookend a 15-day break for the Centurions before they open states.

Not that they are totally rejecting the extra down time: Eisaman gave the team five days off following the quarterfinal loss.

Look at it this way: After Friday, the team will have played three games in a span of 28 days.

“You get late into the season, it's the dog days,” Eisaman said. “We came out flat after a week-and-a-half off. How many drills can you run through now? We have to come out and defend.”

GCC will make its ninth consecutive appearance in the state playoffs. The team has not missed the PIAA playoffs and has won a first-round game every year in Eisaman's tenure.

“When you get this far, you don't want to waste the opportunity,” Eisaman said. “We're happy to still be playing basketball in March. Hopefully, we go up there and pitch one.”

GCC was sluggish early in its WPIAL playoff game, going more than six minutes without a field goal in the second quarter as Serra took command.

Sophomore guard Melina Maietta scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter but by then, the damage was done and GCC could not recover.

“Our girls got impatient,” Eisaman said. “For some reason, they have that internal shot clock in their heads. We have the firepower, but we have to defend.”

Bishop McCort is the District 6 champion. The Crimson Crushers defeated GCC, 49-36, in the PIAA second round in 2015-16.

Last year, GCC defeated McConnellsburg in the first round before losing to Camp Hill in Round 2.

“Hopefully, we'll get more defensive rebounds,” Eisaman said. “We boxed out well but we didn't get enough 50-50 balls (against Serra). Hopefully, we can run some sets. If not, it might have to be one, two (passes) and go.”

GCC has been up and down offensively, scoring 67 points a couple of times but barely getting out of the 30s in others.

Bishop McCort averages 60.5 points.

“The WPIAL playoffs is the ACC Tournament,” Eisaman said. “Now this is the Big Dance.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Greensburg C.C.