Knoch girls fall to Highlands, will prep for state playoffs
NATRONA HEIGHTS — Though it will enter the state playoffs after a loss, Shane McGraw feels good about his Knoch girls basketball team moving forward.
The Knights let a late lead slip away Thursday in the WPIAL’s Class 4A fifth-place consolation game at Highlands High School, losing 38-35 to the Golden Rams.
Knoch will be the district’s sixth-place team in the state tournament, which begins next Saturday.
“We had a great effort tonight,” McGraw said. “Highlands is a great team and I feel we are battle-tested. The girls just have to focus on playing their game for four quarters and believe they can beat any team in the tournament.”
Naturelle Ewing, who scored 13 points Thursday night, drained a 3-pointer that gave Knoch a 35-34 edge with 2:46 left in the game. But Highlands scored the final four points of the game.
Tyarah Woody’s basket with 1:17 remaining put the Rams back up 36-35. The Knights, who had not yet been whistled for a foul in the fourth quarter, committed five of them in in a 32-second span to get the Rams to the free throw line, but Kate Myers hit both of her attempts to make the score 38-35.
Knoch called a timeout with possession and 14 seconds on the clock. Needing a trey to tie the game, all the Knights could manage was an off-balance and contested attempt from Karlee Buterbaugh that did not fall as the game ended.
“We ran the play to the wrong side of the court,” McGraw said. “I thought we knew the play better than we did and that’s on me.”
The Rams (18-7) led 16-12 at halftime before making six of nine attempts from the floor in the third quarter and scored 16 points in the period.
“It’s really tough to get a team up for these (consolation) games,” said Highlands coach Shawn Bennis. “It’s not a section game ... Both teams knew they were going to states and this was basically for seeding. From this point on, it will be easy to motivate because if you lose now, you’re done.
“Once we faced some adversity tonight, we picked up our play.”
Adah Fuller scored 14 points to lead the Knights (15-11).
Myers connected for three treys and paced the Rams with 11 points.
Thursday’s meeting was the third of the season between the section rivals, with Highlands winning all three.
“We’ve tried to find the mismatches against Knoch, but it’s extremely difficult to beat a team three times in one season,” said Bennis. “Knoch has continued to improve all year.”
KNOCH 35
Adah Fuller 6 0-0 14, Karlee Buterbaugh 2 4-4 8, Naturelle Ewing 4 2-2 13, Neah Ewing 0 0-0 0, Aubrey Spencer 0 0-0 0, Lauren Bowser 0 0-0 0, Abigail Hawk 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 6-6 35.
HIGHLANDS 38
Tyarah Woody 2 2-4 6, Kalliegh Nerone 3 2-2 9, Kate Myers 3 2-2 11, Shelby Wojcik 1 0-1 2, Jocelyn Bielak 4 0-0 10, Zoey Celko 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 6-9 38.
Knoch 7 5 11 12 — 35
Highlands 8 8 16 6 — 38
3-point goals: Knoch 5 (Ewing 3, Fuller 2); Highlands 6 (Myers 3, Bielak 2, Nerone)
March 9: PIAA first round, TBA
