Brian Hagberg
WARREN, Pa. – Warren came firing out of the gates in the opening minutes of its PIAA Class 5A first round game against visiting Oakland Catholic Wednesday.
However, the Eagles were able to put the fire out with a suffocating press defense on their way to a 58-36 win over the Dragons.
Warren (19-7) scored the first five points of the game thanks to an Emma Ruhlman three and a Gracie Ruhlman layup, but Oakland Catholic (15-10) ramped up the press defense and closed the quarter with a 15-2 run to take a 15-7 lead into the second.
“We knew, we prepared actually, for both those presses and it just didn’t work,” Warren coach Lisa LaVan said. “Their quickness was way more than what I expected. And I think way more than what we expected. So, you know, hats off to them. They’re a great team and we lost to a better team and there’s no shame in that.”
Halena Hill hit a pair of threes in the first quarter for Oakland Catholic on her way to a team-high 19 points. The Eagles connected on nine 3-pointers in the game, to just two for the Dragons.
It wasn’t just the press that gave Warren fits, but Oakland Catholic’s ability to jump the passing lanes and create turnovers as well.
“They did their best but the speed and needing to step to the ball and just little things like that where you could get away with that against a lesser team but against a good team you’re not going to get away with it. And we didn’t tonight,” LaVan said.
The Eagles led 28-14 at the half, then opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run to stretch the lead to 37-16.
“Oakland Catholic plays that speed that tempo every night they step on the floor,” LaVan said. “I mean, they came out of the best section in the WPIAL by far. And, you know, we don’t see that every night, which is why we try to do what we can to see it as much as we can, but unfortunately, we’re not always gonna be able to emulate that.”
The Dragons matched the Eagles’ offense the rest of the way, but couldn’t cut into the deficit.
A new rule in the PIAA allowed the teams at the top of the bracket to host first round games, and the Eagles and Dragons played in front of a packed house at the Joseph A. Massa Gymnasium.
“It was pretty awesome,” LaVan said. “And you know, I told the girls a couple times today, ‘Hey, go play hard. Have fun, enjoy the moment and the biggest thing is, is take a breath and just look around.’ Hopefully, they did that because it was amazing. And it’s a testament to our program, and how far we’ve come that we have a following like that, and I can’t say enough about our community and how willing they are and how great they are to back us.”
With just a tick over two minutes left in the game, that crowd had a chance to give the winningest class in program history a final send-off as seniors Riley Childress and Emma Ruhlman left the floor for the final time in a Dragons uniform (see story).
“There’s part of me that didn’t want to take them out but there’s a part of me that knew they needed to so they could you know, get that standing ovation and enjoy the moment,” LaVan said.
Alexa Washington finished with 12 points for the Eagles and Jordan Ingelido had 11.
Emma Ruhlman had a game-high 22 points and moved to second all-time in career points for the Dragons with 1,448. Sammie Ruhlman added eight points.
Oakland Catholic advances to the second round and a matchup with McKeesport, who was a 56-31 winner over Obama Academy, on Saturday at a time and location to be announced.
McKeesport beat Oakland Catholic, 56-43, in the WPIAL quarterfinals on March 4.
