A week off from the PIAA Tournament wars hasn’t dimmed the enthusiasm of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s girls basketball team.
In fact, Chargers coach Don Eckerle said he believes the time off might be just what the doctor ordered as his team wrapped up preparations for Friday’s 6 p.m. Class 3A semifinal battle against Shady Side Academy at Fox Chapel High School.
“I think we needed that,” Eckerle said of the week’s rest following his team’s 47-43 victory over Central Cambria March 14 in the PIAA Tournament quarterfinals at Norwin.
“I gave them the weekend off and we started the week fresh. It seems to have paid off. They seem to be fresh and they still have a gleam in their eye when they come into the gym.
“At this point, we’ll take the extra days off.”
OLSH enters Friday’s game with a 25-4 mark and a chance to go where no Chargers team has ever gone before. Two years ago, OLSH advanced to the PIAA semifinals, only to fall to River Valley, 44-38. That’s as far as any Eckerle-coached Chargers team has gone in his 22 years at the helm.
“Going to the semifinals twice in three years – we’re pretty happy about that,” Eckerle said. “Now we have to see if we can pull it off.”
It won’t be easy. Shady Side Academy has lost just once in 28 starts – a 56-51 setback to Greensburg Central Catholic in the WPIAL championship game — and boasts a standout backcourt performer in Karis Thomas. The 5-6 junior guard drained nine 3-pointers on the way to 46 points in the Bulldogs’ WPIAL semifinal win over Ellwood City.
“She’s a high-level player,” Eckerle said of Thomas. “She can be explosive if you allow her to have that type of game. But we’re hoping to control the pace, whether that’s a fast pace or a controlled pace. We hope to be the team that can dictate.”
Shady Side Academy is far from a one-dimensional team, though.
“They’re extremely talented,” Eckerle said. “Thomas is a great point guard but it’s not like she’s doing it by herself. They have the supporting cast to go with her.”
Eckerle said Libby Gallick, a 5-foot-3 senior point guard, will draw the assignment of guarding Thomas, and he believes she’ll be up to the task.
“I credit a lot of our success to her,” Eckerle said of Gallick. “She’s been able to shut down every guard out there. She’s a special type of player and our best defensive player.
“There’s not much difference size-wise. Libby plays much taller than what her stature is. She’s a great defender.”
Both teams come into the game a bit shorthanded. Cassie Sauer, the Bulldogs’ 6-2 post player, sustained a season-ending injury during the WPIAL Tournament and OLSH’s Sara Daeschner, a 5-7 junior guard-forward, went down with a knee injury in the PIAA Tournament win over Greensburg Central Catholic.
“Both teams are playing with less than what they’d hoped to be playing with at this time,” Eckerle said.
The Chargers have gotten solid play at the offensive end from standout senior guard Claudia Ierullo and juniors Leah Parker and Lola Garner.
“Claudia is our go-to,” Eckerle said of Ierullo, who led the team with 17 points in the win over Central Cambria. “But Leah Parker has been very consistent, and she’s had big games along the way in the playoffs.
“Lola Garner has been a real surprise to us at this juncture. We knew she had this ability to play offensively all season, but she’s been a real step-up player.”
In addition to her offensive skills, Ierullo is also solid at the other end of the court and in fact she came up with a key steal and score late in the win over Greensburg Central Catholic.
“She has tremendous instincts defensively,” Eckerle said of Ierullo, who leads the team and steals and also will be called upon to slow Thomas when the situation dictates.
Overall, Eckerle said he likes where his team’s at going into the season’s biggest game.
“We put ourselves in a really good position here, and we’re excited about the opportunity to move forward,” he said. “We’re executing extremely well, regardless of what the defense is, and we’ve been making shots. I don’t have our shooting percentage (in the playoffs) but it’s higher than the regular season.”
While Eckerle isn’t about to underplay the importance of being well-rested and prepared, he’s seen enough basketball to know that’s only part of the game.
“When it comes down to it, the game might come down to a couple of weird things – a couple of bounces or a goofy bank shot at the end of a quarter,” he said. “You just hope those things go your way.”
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