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DAVE LLOYD/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT Bishop McCort’s Emily Basile (13) drives for a layup as Westmont’s Kayla Vliet (12) and Sara Rogerson (34) defend on Tuesday at Bishop McCort High School. Dave Lloyd
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Westmont girls defeat Bishop McCort
JOHNSTOWN — Westmont Hilltop used a 16-point fourth quarter to pull away from rival Bishop McCort in a defensive battle at the Crushers gym on Tuesday night.
Hilltop won 43-37 after trailing by a point entering the final quarter.
“I was real proud of my seniors,” Westmont coach Jodi Hillegass said. “We lost two years to McCort and that was a big movitation. I told them this is their last time playing them down here and asked them what kind of legacy do you want to leave? They stepped up big.”
Junior Alyssa Yewcic had eight of her game-high 13 rebounds in the fourth quarter. She finished with nine points, including two fourth-quarter free throws that put Westmont up 41-31 late.
Kayla Vliet, another senior, made two of her four 3-pointers in the final frame and drained a long field goal while collecting eight of her game-best 14 points in the fourth.
Senior Sara Rogerson made 4-of-6 free throws in the quarter to help Westmont build a big enough advantage to withstand a pair of 3-pointers by McCort’s Emily Basile in the final 47 seconds.
“Yewcic had eight big rebounds in the fourth quarter,” McCort coach John Hahn said. “We didn’t rebound the ball well. All year long we’ve been trying to hold teams to 40 points because offensively we’re struggling scoring.”
There were four ties in the first half before Westmont took a 21-20 lead at intermission. McCort used an 8-6 third-quarter advantage to hold a 28-27 margin through three.
“Statistically we were very evenly matched,” Hillegass said. “We both average about 40 points. We both give up about 40 points. I told the girls it was going to come down to who played the better defense and who played the best together when it counted. I thought both teams played great defense. I was happy with our defense in the fourth quarter. I thought we cleared the boards well and played good team defense.”
McCort’s Basile had 13 points. Kristen Woznick made three 3-pointers.
“I look at the team, and other than Emily (Basile) and Brittany Boyd who started last year, everybody is kind of new,” said Hahn of his 4-3 Crushers.
“I’ve been telling them it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon. We just have to keep getting better, work hard at practice and run our offense. I think we gave up on our offense too early. Give credit to Westmont for that. They played good defense. Once we get over that hump we’ll be OK.”
Westmont (5-4) also has a somewhat new look.
“We are rather young and inexperienced,” Hillegass said. “I was happy with the way the bench played. We played eight.”
Hilltop’s record is deceiving because Westmont has a pair of losses to a veteran North Star team, and one apiece to Quad-A Hazelton and Forest Hills.
“We’re battle tested,” Hillegass said. “We played a real tight game against Somerset and that experience helped us (Tuesday).”
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