SV girls drop 5th straight
WEXFORD — Seneca Valley girls basketball coach Dorothea Epps noted a common denominator during the Raiders’ four-game losing streak entering Saturday’s game against Hampton.
“We just haven’t been able to finish,” the coach said.
That wasn’t the case on Saturday.
“Today, we never got started,” Epps lamented.
The Raiders (12-10) fell behind 16-3 in the first seven minutes on Saturday, put together a solid run to begin the fourth quarter, but dropped a 46-39 decision to the Talbots. The game was played at North Allegheny as part of the Bash With The Bronx basketball event there.
The loss means Seneca Valley will begin the playoffs on a five-game losing streak. The Raiders won 10 in a row earlier in the season. The WPIAL playoff pairings will be released Monday afternoon.
“We didn’t start playing today until the fourth quarter,” Epps said. “That’s too late.You can’t do that against a good team ... against any team ... and expect to win.”
The Raiders gave it a shot, though.
Seneca Valley scored the game’s first bucket, then went without a field goal for more than seven minutes. The Raiders trailed 34-23 entering the fourth period, but went on a 7-0 run in less than 90 seconds. Natalie Hambly scored a layup, Emerson Peffer stole the ball and drove in for a bucket, Regan Gallagher sank a 3-pointer.
Just like that, Hampton’s lead was reduced to 34-30. But the Raiders could draw no closer.
“We knew they were gonna make a run,” Hampton coach Tony Howard said. “They’re too good of a team not to. I was pleased the way our girls hung together and stayed with it.”
A pair of Gracie Cato free throws cut the Raider deficit to 43-39 with 1:45 left, but three free throws by Talbots point guard Meghan Murray in the final 23 seconds accounted for the rest of the game’s points.
Murray led Hampton with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. She is headed to Kent State University next year.
“Meghan is one of those players who can do everything,” Howard said. “Sometimes the other girls have a tendency to stand around and watch her, and that’s not good. That didn’t happen today. Everyone stayed engaged.
“We came in here on a four-game losing streak and were hoping to get some of our mojo back. Hopefully, we did that.”
Kathleen Milon added 11 points and four rebounds for the Talbots.
Hambly led Seneca Valley with 19 points. Cato added eight points, Peffer six rebounds and three steals.
The Raiders played without 6-foot-2 senior center Allison Sevin.
“She’s been having some back issues and we decided to hold her out today,” Epps sad. “Allison will be back for the playoffs and she should make a difference for us.
“We played some younger girls today, seeing if we could get a spark that way. We did, but it wasn’t enough.”
Howard admitted Sevin’s absence made a difference on the floor.
“Big impact for us, her not playing,” he said. “We’re not a very big team and No. 41 (Sevin) would have definitely given us matchup problems.”
SENECA VALLEY 39
Makayla Canty 0-4 1-2 1, Lilly Sperry 1-3 0-0 2, Natalie Hambly 5-16 7-10 19, Gracie Cato 2-9 3-4 8, Emerson Peffer 2-4 0-0 4, Kaydence Kilhof 0-0 0-0 0, Brooke Dufford 0-0 0-0 0, Erica Rebovich 0-0 0-0 0, Regan Gallagher 1-2 2-2 5, Taylor Dixon 0-1 0-0 90. Totals: 11-39 13-18 39.
HAMPTON 46
Meghan Murray 7-21 5-6 23, Kathleen Milon 5-11 0-0 11, Sterling Thomson 2-4 0-0 4, Emma Rick 3-4 0-0 6, McKenna Andrews 0-0 0-0 0, Katie Christy 0-0 0-0 0, Harper Gibbons 0-0 0-0 0, Maria Nylias 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 18-41 5-6 46.
Seneca Valley 5 10 8 16 — 39
Hampton 16 6 12 12 — 46
3-point goals: Seneca Valley 4 (Hamby 2, Gallagher, Cato), Hampton 5 (Murray 4, Milon)
Next: Seneca Valley in WPIAL 6A playoffs, TBA
