Colombo shines in Irish victory

Colombo became the latest role player to provide a scoring lift exactly when the Fighting Irish needed it. As a result, Catholic ended the Squirettes hopes of a fourth straight PIAA title with a 58-47 win.

The Irish girls will play Westmont Hilltop at noon Friday at Giant Center for their first state title since 1979. Westmont Hilltop defeated Greensburg Central Catholic 49-46 in the other Class AA semifinal Tuesday.

Amanda Weaver led the Catholic with 17 points, and Megan Stewart added 11.

Michele Schleich scored a game-high 19 points for the Squirettes.

But Colombo provided the biggest surprise of the night. As Delone’s defenders loaded up the perimeter, the junior went hard at the basket more aggressively than she did at any point during the season.

“Teams tend to forget about Danielle, and she’s probably the best hustler on the team,� Weaver said. “She just cut through, found some openings and got some layups. She did amazing. I don’t know what we would have done if she hadn’t stepped up.�

Catholic reached this point without being challenged for a full 32 minutes in the state tournament. That changed Tuesday. The Irish took the early lead, but the Squirettes hung right with the District 3 champions, down two after the first quarter, five at halftime and five heading into the fourth.

Delone made the Irish work the ball on offense. York Catholic earned some open jump shots, but only after passing it around for 20 seconds. The Squirettes outrebounded Catholic 19-14.

The Irish advanced because they smothered Delone with a full-court press in the second half that helped produce 11 Squirette turnovers. Once, they were whistled for a 10-second violation, and coach Gerry Eckenrode had to call at timeout from the bench to prevent another.

When Delone broke through, its players were often hurried and ineffective in their half-court sets.

“We wanted to bring the heat,� Bria said. “We thought they were susceptible to that late in the game. We made Meredith (Cox) pick the ball up a couple times. Oh, I’m going to have to go home and watch the tape of that tonight.�

Still, the Squirettes remained within striking distance, thanks largely to going 9 for 10 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Their moment appeared to present itself when Weaver headed to the bench with her fourth foul with 6:02 to play.

But Delone, which won its two previous games on comebacks, could not make a final push. Instead, York Catholic stalled until Weaver returned three minutes later and padded its lead from the foul line.

Then they poured out onto the floor, knowing their second gold medal of the season is only 32 minutes of basketball away.

“It’s awesome,� Colombo said. “It’s been our goal since we were freshmen.�

Write to Jeff Frantz at jfrantz@ydr.com