WPIAL girls basketball playoffs: Seneca Valley falls short in bid for first playoff win in 19 years
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Seneca Valley's Natalie Hambly (24) attempts a 3-pointer against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Gracie Cato (30) snags a rebound from Mt. Lebanon in overtime in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Legacy Joseph-Short (3) flies to the hoop against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley cheerleader Made Conrad hypes up the crowd as the Raiders play Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Brooke Dufford, front, makes a basket and draws a foul from Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Legacy Joseph-Short (3) shoots a foul shot against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley fell to Mt. Lebanon in overtime in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley student section celebrates as the Raiders head into overtime off Gracie Cato's buzzer beater against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley head coach Dorothea Epps encourages the team against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley coach Dorothea Epps, center, talks to her team during their game against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Gracie Cato (30) scores against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Natalie Hambly (24) attempts a 3-pointer against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley cheerleader Rowen Mansfield performs in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Reece McFadden SV (2) shoots a 3-pointer against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Reece McFadden SV (2) dribbles up the court against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Legacy Joseph-Short (3) shoots against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley fans erupt to Gracie Cato's buzzer-beater against Mt. Lebanon to force overtime in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Erica Rebovich (14) keeps the ball in bounds against Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
JACKSON TWP — The first playoff win in 19 years was well within reach for Seneca Valley’s girls basketball team.
A spirited fourth-quarter rally was led by senior guard Gracie Cato, whose layup just before the buzzer sent the game into overtime tied at 42.
But the momentum did not carry over into the extra four minutes, where the Raiders made just one field goal. Trailing Mt. Lebanon by two points, Legacy Joseph-Short’s layup fell off the rim as time expired and the Blue Devils escaped SV’s William Paul Gymnasium with a 47-45 WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal victory.
The Raiders (15-7) earned the final possession when Joseph-Short rebounded a missed free throw from Mt. Lebanon’s Elizabeth Twyman with 7.1 seconds left. Following a timeout, the Raiders had to go the length of the floor.
“We got what we wanted, got the ball to the player with the clearest shot,” SV coach Dorothea Epps said.
Cali Green scored both of Mt. Lebanon’s field goals in overtime, the second one giving the Blue Devils (14-9) the lead for good, 46-45 with 1:32 remaining.
Green led all scorers with 19 points. Her teammate, Payton Collins, scored 12.
“Payton and her sister, Riley, are our top two scorers,” Mt. Lebo coach Mark Walsh said. “Riley was unable to go tonight, and Cali stepped up for us.”
The Blue Devils led 34-23 after three quarters, but struggled in the fourth as eight turnovers led to the team being outscored 19-8 in the period.
“I need to do a better job of preparing us to attack that press defense,” Walsh said. “This game could’ve gone either way.”
Thwarting Mt. Lebanon’s possessions was half the battle for the Raiders. They still needed to make up a double-digit deficit.
Enter Cato. In what proved to be her final high school game, she scored 14 of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. Her trey with 1:08 left in regulation tied the game at 40. The Blue Devils added a pair of free throws, setting the stage for Cato’s late bucket that forced overtime.
“She led us this year, conducting both the offense and defense,” Epps said. “She became a go-to player.
“She said we were not going to lose tonight and went after it. I’m so proud of her.”
Early in the game, it was the Raiders who had trouble maintaining possession, committing 12 turnovers in the first quarter, after which they trailed 12-6. The deficit stood at 21-16 at halftime.
“We had a number of overthrown (passes) and I think it was nerves,” Epps said. “We just needed to settle down.”
Natalie Hambly added 13 points for SV.
The Raiders’ last playoff win remains a first-round decision over Hempfield in 2006.
But this year’s team went a perfect 10-0 in section play, earning for the program its first section title since 1977.
“What I’m most impressed with is these girls stayed hungry,” Epps said. “Sometimes when you accomplish something, put a year up on a banner, players can be satisfied. This team wasn’t, they wanted more. I’ll go to the wall with this group.”
MT. LEBANON 47
Cali Green 7 5-6 19, Elizabeth Twyman 2 2-6 7, Anessa Donoghue 2 1-2 5, Payton Collins 5 1-4 12, Shea McCarthy 1 0-0 2,Reese Hall 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 9-18 47.
SENECA VALLEY 45
Reece McFadden 2 0-0 5, Legacy Joseph-Short 0 3-4 3, Natalie Hambly 6 1-4 13, Brooke Dufford 4 0-1 8, Gracie Cato 6 3-3 16, Lilly Sperry 0 0-0 0, Regan Gallagher 0 0-0 0, Erica Rebovich 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 7-12 45.
Mt. Lebanon 12 9 13 8 5 — 47
Seneca Valley 6 10 7 19 3 — 45
3-point goals: Mt. Lebanon 2 (Collins, Twyman); Seneca Valley 2 (Cato, McFadden)
