Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy girls basketball team beats travel woes, Clairton during 1st-round PIAA playoffs

The Wolfpack didn't allow getting stuck behind a car accident on the highway slow down their march to the second round of the state playoffs.

Saint Joseph Catholic Academy junior forwards Aubrey Yartz, left, and Jacee Cuningham, right, team up to try and slow down Clairton senior guard Iyanna Wade Saturday afternoon at Paulette Bradford Memorial Gymnasium. The Wolfpack limited Wade, who averages over 40 points per game, to 24 during a PIAA Class A first-round playoff game. / Josh Rizzo

CLAIRTON, Pa. — If everything goes perfectly, a trip from Boalsburg to Clairton would be a roughly 2.5-hour drive to cover the 155 miles. The Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy girls basketball team didn’t have idyllic conditions Saturday morning.

The Wolfpack were stuck behind an accident on Route 22 that put them about an hour behind schedule before their PIAA Class A playoff game Saturday afternoon. Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy, the third-place team out of District 6, regrouped once they arrived to pick up a 61-46 win.

The further delay was torture for Wolfpack coach Beth Irwin,  whose team had been off since they beat Williamsburg, 68-67, on Feb. 27.

“The whole week of having no game is just exhausting, you know?” Irwin said. “To prepare for that, then we had issues getting here, so we had to settle down. We survived our lull in the third quarter, which we always have a little lull in.”

The Wolfpack (25-2) ended up having about a half hour to get ready to play the Bears. Naomi Crispin, who made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, said the Wolfpack were excited to play.

Saint Joseph's needed time to get ready for the intensity.

“I think we were all ready to play,” Crispin said. “I mean, it was a really long car ride. I think the intensity got us a little bit in the first. "We were getting a little crazy and stuff all throughout the game, but I think in the end we all really just wanted to win. And even after a week, we've been preparing for this for a week, so I think we were definitely all ready, we just weren't ready for the intensity.”

Clairton (19-6) provided a unique defensive challenge. Bears 5-foot-4 senior guard Iyanna Wade averaged more than 40 points per game this season.

Wade, who finished her career with 3,120 points, finished with 24 points, but she had to work for those numbers. Wade finished 0-for-6 from the 3-point line.

Saint Joseph Catholic Academy forward Sara McElhinny fouls Iyanna Wade during the first half of the Wolfpacks' 61-46 win in the first round of the PIAA Class A girls basketball tournament Saturday afternoon at Paulette Bradford Memorial Gym in Clairto / Josh Rizzo

“We didn't want to put them on the foul line, and I'd rather trade twos than threes,” Irwin said. “So we had her in a box-and-one and a diamond-and-one.  We  told our defender to go behind the screens or we actually switched when it was hot. So when we switched, we had a higher defender on her for the freeze. It's just communication.”

Clairton took its only lead, 18-17, on a layup by Wade in the second quarter. The Wolfpack responded with baskets by Aubrey Yartz and Jace Cunningham to stretch the lead back to 21-18. Yartz also finished with 14 points and more than 10 rebounds to record a double-double.

Saint Joseph's led 29-23 at halftime and opened the second half with two 3-pointers to build a lead the Bears were never able to threaten. Clairton played without forward Kyzah Jamison, who was out with a stomach illness. Another Bears post player, Karma Fuqua who played and scored 11 points, was injured by a sprained ankle.

“It hurt us a little bit,” Clairton coach Carlton Wade said. “Jamison didn’t play and she’s my leading rebounder. We didn’t have enough to fight with. They were big and they pounded teh ball down low. They got some good looks early. We fell behind, but we did fight back.”

Crispin enjoyed the challenge of playing a true road game in the playoffs. Saint Joseph's will meet District 9 champion DuBois Central Catholic on Tuesday the second round at a neutral site to be determined.

“ Yeah, I think it's really cool,” Crispin said. “I think it's a hard environment just to get used to, genuinely, just like the fans and driving this far. I think the big thing, getting off the bus and playing 30 minutes after you drive, I think it's really hard.”

--Josh Rizzo |rizzo42789@gmail.com| @J_oshrizzo

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