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Blackhawk rally falls short in 53-45 loss in PIAA title game to Lansdale Catholic

joshua carney, beaver county times
·6 min read
Lansdale Catholic's Sanyiah Littlejohn (3) goes up for a layup during the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Blackhawk at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.
Lansdale Catholic's Sanyiah Littlejohn (3) goes up for a layup during the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Blackhawk at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.

HERSHEY — Basketball is a game of runs. Oftentimes, the team that's on the run last, wins.

The Blackhawk Cougars girls' basketball team found itself on that last run of the game, erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to pull within one point of Lansdale Catholic Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey in the PIAA Class 4A title game.

Unfortunately, that run ran out of gas as Blackhawk couldn't quite complete the comeback, falling 53-45 to Lansdale Catholic, capping off a rather remarkable postseason run for the Cougars under longtime head coach Steve Lodovico.

Blackhawk head coach Steve Lodovico hugs one his players after falling in the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Lansdale Catholic at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.
Blackhawk head coach Steve Lodovico hugs one his players after falling in the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Lansdale Catholic at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.

"Just what I've seen the previous 29 games this year: a lot of fight, a lot of heart, a lot of character," Lodovico said of the fourth-quarter run that ultimately came up short. "I told the girls that what makes them special, makes them unique is that they don't have the word 'quit' in their vocabulary.

"They continue to battle and fight, no matter who they're playing, what the outcome is or situation they're in. I think that's what got us to climb back in it was our determination and fight."

That determination and fight that the Cougars displayed Saturday climbing out of a 46-36 hole entering the fourth quarter was unsurprising for anyone that's been around the Blackhawk team in recent weeks.

Blackhawk's Alena Fusetti gets called for a travel in the paint during the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Lansdale Catholic at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.
Blackhawk's Alena Fusetti gets called for a travel in the paint during the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Lansdale Catholic at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.

Entering the postseason after a section-winning regular season, the Cougars were dealt a big blow with the loss of star senior Quinn Borroni, who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in a scrimmage ahead of the start of the WPIAL playoffs. Without their best player, the Cougars were seemingly written off.

Then, they did what they do best under Lodovoci: fight their way to greater heights. There was the run to the WPIAL Class 4A title game against North Catholic, where they ultimately came up short. And then there was the run all the way to the Giant Center in Hershey — vanquishing North Catholic along the way in the semis — to take on the Crusaders from Lansdale Catholic.

For two quarters, it looked like the storybook run from the Cougars would have a happy ending. Blackhawk led 30-27 at the half thanks to some impressive offensive sets that saw the likes of junior Alena Fusetti and freshman Aubree Hupp hit a pair of 3-pointers and some tough shots inside, while limiting the Crusaders and Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year Gabby Casey to one shot on a number of offensive possessions.

Lansdale Catholic's Gabby Casey dribble down court during the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Blackhawk at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.
Lansdale Catholic's Gabby Casey dribble down court during the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Blackhawk at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.

Hupp was the player forced into the starting lineup following Borroni's injury. To her credit, she seized upon the opportunity and ran with it, becoming a vital player for the Cougars in the postseason.

"Aubree has a great future as a basketball player here at Blackhawk," Lodovico said. "What she was able to do being thrown into her first start as a freshman in the playoffs, she never looked back. She played with high confidence. She was going against a really good player and a really good team, and she had no fear.

"If Aubree Hupp doesn't step up like she does, then we're not sitting here playing at the Giant Center today. I don't have enough words to describe how proud I am of her."

Coming out in the second half though, the Cougars struggled to hit shots. A basket from senior Kassie Potts at the 6:11 mark of the third quarter was the last point the Cougars would score until nearly six minutes into the fourth quarter, going dry in a big spot while the Crusaders found their footing offensively and raced out to a 38-30 lead after three, thanks to an 11-0 run, and extended it to 46-36 in the fourth quarter as Casey took over.

Lansdale Catholic head coach Eric Gidney reacts in the final seconds of the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Blackhawk at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.
Lansdale Catholic head coach Eric Gidney reacts in the final seconds of the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Blackhawk at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.

"We just didn't hit shots. That's what it came down to," Lodovico said. "It's been something we've struggled with for a lot of the season, is the ability in the halfcourt set to be able knock down some shots. I thought we did a good job of that in the first half, but it just came down to they hit more shots than us in that third quarter and opened it up. They got to the glass a little bit on us, and we just couldn't hit.

"Against a really good team, if you go on a dry spell they're going to capitalize, and that happened."

Blackhawk — much like it has all season in tough spots — wouldn't go away, though.

Fusetti, who finished with 20 points and six steals Saturday, willed the Cougars back into it, hitting a pair of big 3-pointers and converting two and-1s in the lane, giving the Cougars life.

"Alena is special. She's a special player," Lodovico said. "I thought she was fantastic for us tonight. I told her before the game that I needed by star player to shine on the brightest stage...she always delivers on her word. The great thing about Alena is that she's very humble, doesn't worry about her individual stuff. It's always about the team."

Blackhawk's Kassie Potts dribbles the ball during the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Lansdale Catholic at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.
Blackhawk's Kassie Potts dribbles the ball during the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Lansdale Catholic at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.

Senior point guard Kassie Potts hit a huge 3-pointer following two offensive rebounds, making it a 46-42 game with 3:18 left.

Fusetti came through in the clutch again, drilling a 3-pointer following a Crusader turnover due to Blackhawk's tenacious full-court press to make it 46-45, forcing a Lansdale Catholic timeout.

The Crusaders settled down after the timeout though, going on a 7-0 run to close the game as Olivia Boccella hit 5-of-6 free throws and Casey added a late layup in transition, finishing off the 53-45 win for the first state title in program history. Casey, who will play at St. Joseph's, finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds in the win.

"You never really know how good a player is until you see them live. Everything we had on Casey was on film, and I thought we did a great job on her in the first half," Lodovico said. "What changed for us was in the second half we got worn down a little bit and she got loss. And she's a monster on the glass. She just makes things happen.

"She's the Gatorade Player of the Year for a reason."

Lansdale Catholic's Gabby Casey (15) surveys the court during the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Blackhawk at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.
Lansdale Catholic's Gabby Casey (15) surveys the court during the PIAA Class 4A Girls' Basketball Championship against Blackhawk at the Giant Center on March 25, 2023, in Hershey. The Crusaders won, 53-45.

Blackhawk finishes the season 25-5 overall and finished second in the WPIAL and second in the state, and will see four members of the starting five in Fusetti, Hupp, Haley Romigh, and Piper Romigh return next season, along with key rotational pieces in Ava Davis and Andrea Kinger return for another run at a WPIAL and PIAA title under Lodovico.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Blackhawk rally falls short in 53-45 loss in PIAA title game to Lansdale Catholic