Eagles take aim at Penns Manor
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
Coming off a heartbreaking loss in the WPIAL semifinals, the Serra Catholic girls basketball team is set to hit the floor Friday for its PIAA first-round game against District 6 runner-up Penns Manor.
But getting over the hangover of their upset loss to Laurel in the semifinals took a few days to recover from.
“We took a day off on Tuesday, then we were right back in the gym Wednesday,” Eagles head coach Bill Cleary said. “You can see they were really down on themselves. It took a couple of days, but I think we’re doing pretty good right now.”
The Eagles (17-4) are the fourth-place team from the WPIAL and will tip off against the Comets (23-3) at 6 p.m. at Central Cambria High School in Ebensburg.
Penns Manor dropped a 62-59 decision to Bishop Guilfoyle in the D6 championship game Feb. 27.
“They’re a nice, balanced team,” Cleary said of the Comets. “They do a lot of things well. They play a solid man-to-man defense and they’re come at you full court with their pressure.”
The Comets, coached by Jason Miloser, feature four players averaging double figures, led by sophomore Megan Dumm, who’s averaging 13.5 points per game.
“That Megan Dumm, she shoots the ball really well,” Cleary said. “I saw them play their semifinal game against Bishop McCort and she hit a 3-pointer near the buzzer to win it for them. She can really shoot the threes.”
Behind Dumm in the scoring column is point guard Lauren Bagley and her 12.7 points per game average.
Kassidy Smith is averaging 11.4 ppg and Megan’s sister Lauren Dumm is averaging 10 points and nearly eight rebounds per game.
“They’re relentless on the boards. They’re not the biggest team, but they hustle all over the floor,” Cleary said. “Bagley is a really good point guard and she’s going to look to dribble drive and get to the basket. They’re solid all around.”
To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Thursday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.
