Girls Basketball - Greensburg Central Catholic vs Serra Catholic

January 05, 2023

Greensburg Central Catholic Girls Prevail 47-43 in Hard-Fought Battle with Serra Catholic

Greensburg Central Catholic got the advantage in a low-scoring fourth quarter to break free of a neck-and-neck battle with Serra Catholic, beating the Eagles 47-43 in a Class 2A Section 3 matchup on Thursday, January 5, at the Greensburg Central Catholic gymnasium in Carbon.

GCC and Serra both entered the game unbeaten through the early part of their section schedule, along with Clairton and Winchester Thurston. At the end of the night, the loser would be looking up at the other three remaining unbeatens in the section standings.

The game started out as close as it looked on paper, with Serra Catholic holding a 12-10 lead following a back-and-forth first quarter. Serra opened the second quarter on a bit of a scoring run, jumping out to a 24-16 lead in the first 3 minutes. But the Lady Centurions chiseled away at the deficit with a 9-2 run to trail only 26-25 at halftime. GCC used the 3-pointer as their primary weapon in the half, with Erica Gribble, Avery Davis, and Cara Dupilka each dropping two from behind the arc.

The Eagles had opened up a little breathing room again by the final minute of the third quarter, leading 39-35 with 24 seconds to play. But a field goal by Mya Morgan with 12 seconds remaining, followed by a buzzer-beating layup by Erica Gribble, tied the contest at 39 with one quarter left to play.

Mya Morgan put the Centurions in front with a 3-pointer to open the 4th quarter scoring, and Cate Clark made 1-of-2 free throws for Serra to make it 42-40. A Gribble left-handed layup and a field goal by Morgan bumped the GCC lead to 46-40 with just under 3 minutes left in the game. Serra responded quickly with a 3-pointer by Abby Genes, and the GCC lead shrunk to 46-43 with 2:45 on the clock.

Coming out of a Serra timeout, the Centurions moved the ball around, taking more than a minute off the clock before Serra got possession again. A pair of tie-ups in the final minute traded alternate possessions. Serra got the ball back after Erica Gribble drained one-of-two free throw attempts with 13.4 seconds to play, but a 3-point shot from the corner missed the mark as time expired and GCC celebrated a 47-43 victory.

Erica Gribble led the Centurions with 16 points, with Avery Davis adding 11 and Mya Morgan 10. Cate Clark scored 17 points for the Eagles.

GCC (10-2, 4-0) is back in action on 1/9 with a non-conference game at Berlin Brothersvalley. Next up for Serra Catholic (5-1, 2-1) is a section game at home against Clairton on 1/9.