BY ERIC KNOPSNYDER
NORTHERN CAMBRIA — Northern Cambria finally gets to pick on someone its own size.
The Colts (22-5) have advanced to the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class A girls basketball tournament with an athletic but undersized team. They’ll face a similar squad in District 2 champion Old Forge (18-6) at
2 this afternoon at Mifflinburg Area High School.
“They’re just about our size, which is nice to play a team our size,” Northern Cambria coach Eric Thomas said. “Their biggest girl (Kim Kaville) is 5-foot-9 or 5-10. The rest range from 5-5 to 5-8.”
Kaville leads the Devils with 12.4 points per game. Aleca Semenza (9.0 points per game), Chrissy Belko (8.4) and Nicole Marianelli (7.4) also contribute to a balanced scoring attack.
Belko is the top rebounder with 5.1 per game while Kaville adds 4.7 and Semenza averages 4.6 per game.
One of the things that jumped out at Thomas as he watched the tape of Old Forge’s 40-35 victory over District 3 runner-up Greenwood earlier this week is that the Devils were outrebounded 31-19. If the Colts can hold that type of edge on the boards it will allow them to get out and run.
It also could limit Old Forge’s ability to set up its 1-3-1 half-court trapping defense.
“They give some teams some fits with it,” Thomas said.
“We’ve worked on passing over the top of the defense.”
It helps that Thomas has an experienced group that has seen just about everything while competing for state championships in volleyball, track and field and basketball.
“They’ve seen all kinds of defenses, all kinds of teams,” Thomas said. “My assistant and I still talk about that. You would think at this level, they would get flustered, but our kids just don’t. They almost welcome it. This is where they typically play their best ball.”
Breanna Kochinsky leads Northern Cambria with 18.1 points and 3.8 assists per game. Ariel Rocco averages a double-double with 14.3 points and 14.2 rebounds per game. Janae Dunchack contributes 14.1 points per and 8.9 rebounds per game.
Old Forge brings experience as well. The Devils reached the Class A quarterfinals two years ago before falling last year to Benton – the same team that eliminated Northern Cambria.
“They start four seniors and a junior,” Thomas said. “They’re a team that with the senior leadership, they appear to be pretty good shooters, drivers.”
