Riverside Loses Two Games, Still in Playoff Run

Riverside lost two playoff games on Friday and Monday against Greensburg Central Catholic and Burrell but is still in the running pending tomorrow’s game against Chartiers-Houston.

Unfortunately, that run will be minus the team’s top scorer, senior Katie Stang, who averages 19 points per game. During the Greensburg game, Stang suffered a season-ending knee injury and watched the Burrell game from the sidelines on crutches.

Riverside’s post-season got off to an excellent start with a comeback game against Brentwood on Feb. 18 where the Lady Panthers won 45-42 after trailing 25-15 in the first half.

In Friday’s game against Greensburg, the Lady Panthers were prepared for a similar feat. With 5:49 left on clock, they were only behind 43-37 when Stang was injured. Although the rest of the team rallied to fill the void and sophomore Sydney wolf scored 19 points, Greensburg widened the gap and won 57-44.

With Stang, Riverside was accustomed to having the game’s highest scorer, but Greensburg’s Brittany Stawovy took that title with 26 points.

The loss didn’t spell the end of the season for Riverside though. They were pitted against another quarterfinal loser, Burrell, on Monday. With little time to practice playing without Stang, Riverside lost 67-46. Burrell also boasted Natalie Myers on their roster, who’s bound for Youngstown State on a basketball scholarship and scored 25 points.

Even with Stang, Burrell was originally seeded second while Riverside was seeded sixth, but as their quarterfinals testify, seeds can be upset. Burrell will play Neshannock next, a team Riverside is one for one with.

For Riverside, there is yet another opportunity. They will be pitted against Chartiers-Houston on Thursday for the seventh and last spot in the state playoffs. Riverside goes into the game with a 20-5 record and Chartiers-Houston is 17-8. With more time to practice without Stang, there may yet be more games in store for the Lady Panthers.

Box Scores: Greensburg

Riverside 14 13 6 11 44

Greensburg 18 13 10 16 57

Riverside: Jordan Annarumo 3 0-0 7, Sydney Wolf 6 4-5 19, Abbey Matiko 0 2-2 2, Katie Stang 4 1-2 11, Morgan Bailey 1 0-0 2, Natalie Bologna 0 1-2 1, Ashley Boehm 1 0-0 2, Sarah Annarumo 0 0-0 0, Bekah Bettencourt 0 0-0 0, Lauren Bettencourt 0 0-0 0, Krista Ward 0 0-0 0, Tori Jacobs 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 8-11 44.

Greensburg Central Catholic: Brittany Stawovy 9 6-7 27, Haley Moore 7 1-2 16, Maddy Coddington 2 1-2 5, Kristin Hickey 2 0-0 4, Caroline Perz 1 0-2 2, Olivia Stawovy 1 1-2 3, Bella Skatell 0 0-0 0, Bailey Bungard 0 0-0 0, Heaven Hester 0 0-0 0, Alexa Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 9-15 57.

3-point goals: Riverside 6 (Sydney Wolf 3, Katie Stang 2, Jordan Annarumo 1); Greensburg Central Catholic 4 (Brittany Stawovy 3, Haley Moore 1).

Box Scores: Burrell

Riverside              10 7 11 18 – 46

Burrell                  18 17 16 16 – 67

Abbey Matiko 2 2-4 8, Sydney Wolf 7 4-7 20, Morgan Bailey 1 2-2 4, Jordan Annarumo 2 1-2 6, Natalie Bologna 1 0-0 2, Ashley Boehm 0 0-0 0,

Bekah Bettencourt 0 0-0 0, Tori Jacobs 1 0-0 2, Claire Nye 0 2-3 2, Sarah Annarumo 0 0-0 0, Suzuno Kimura 0 0-0 0, Lauren Bettencourt 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 11-18 46.

Burrell

Natalie Myers 11 2-2 25, Brooke Smith 5 1-2 11, Brittany Dunn 5 0-0 0, Nicole Kristof 0 5-6 5, Eliza Oswalt 2 3-4 9, Bailie Taylor 2 2-2 6, Lily Kastelic 0 0-0 0, Katlen Sharrow 0 0-0 0, Kelly Nitkowski 0 0-0 0, Sara Clark 0 0-0 0, Grace Omencinski 0 0-0 0, Faith Remich 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 13-16 67.

3-point goals: Riverside 5 (Wolf 2, Matiko 2, J.Annarumo 1); Burrell 4 (Myers 1, Smith 1, Oswalt 2).