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Buzzer-beating heartbreaker

Madonna girls fall in Class A sectional championship to Wheeling Central

ROOM TO RUN — Madonna’s Jazzy Melnyk drives with Andrea Alimario setting a pick against Wheeling Central in a Class A sectional title game on Friday at Brooke. (Photo by Andrew Grimm)

WELLSBURG — Madonna girls basketball coach Rodney Boniti called Friday’s Region 1, Section 1 championship a heavyweight battle.

His No. 1 seed Blue Dons had the defending Class A state champions on the ropes, but the No. 2 seed Maroon Knights landed the final blow.

With the game tied at and the fourth quarter clock racing towards zero, Wheeling Central’s Marisa Horan took a inbound pass from Allison Davidson. Despite a Blue Don defender in her face, hit nothing but net as time expired to lift the Maroon Knights (14-9) to a 48-46 victory at the Brooke Wellness Center.

“The play was actually designed for Kaylee Reinbeau, but they doubled her and it left Marisa wide open,” Wheeling Central coach Penn Kurtz said. “She shot the ball well for us the whole game. It looked good to me.

“I was just hoping she could get it off quick enough with their post player coming at her, and she did. She’s a tough young lady. She played great defense for us all night and hit the shot when we needed it.”

Madonna (17-6) trailed by as many as 17 in the game and was down by 16 early in the third quarter. It came charging back and took its only lead of the contest, 46-44, with 28.1 seconds left on a bucket by Gabby Staffileno.

“We gave it a good shot, but like we’ve told the girls all year … this is a 32-minute game,” Boniti said. “You give the reigning state champions a 17-point lead, I don’t know how many teams in the state can come back against them.

“While we’re highly disappointed with the first 10 or 12 minutes of the game, I’m so proud of the this team. There aren’t too many teams that would have hung in there the way we did.”

Kaylee Reinbeau got her own rebound the other way and tied the game with a basket. The Madonna bench wanted an offensive foul, but it was called the other way.

Reinbeau missed her free throw — the only miss from the line by the Maroon Knights — to keep the score tied, but Tristen White grabbed the rebound to keep possession of the ball and set up the buzzer-beater.

“My hats too to Penn, he’s always got his teams ready for the playoffs,” Boniti said. “Wheeling Central is peaking right now. Everyone knows they’re peaking right now. A championship team knows how to close it out and win, and they did.”

Wheeling Central opened up a 21-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, and still led by 12 at the break after a Jazzy Melnyk 3-pointer late gave Madonna some momentum back.

The Maroon Knights pushed the lead to 35-19 early on the third quarter, but Madonna started to get going.

“We got off to a great start,” Kurtz said. “Then, we just bogged down on the offensive end. A lot of that is a credit to (Madonna). Any time a team has four seniors like they do, it makes a difference.”

The Blue Dons closed to within 10 with 3:32 left in the third, but a late Horan 3-pointer put Wheeling Central on top by 13 entering the fourth quarter.

A furious Blue Dons rally ensued, with Andrea Alimario scoring five-straight points to make it a two-point game before Staffileno tied the game for the first time since early in the first quarter with a pair of free throw makes with 3:21 remaining. Wheeling Central regained the lead on Reinbeau free throws, before Almario knotted the score at 44-44 with 1:19 to go.

The Maroon Knights had just enough late-game heroics to come away with the dramatic win.

“We’re full of heart,” Boniti said. “To come back from a 13-point deficit in nine minutes and take a two-point lead is pretty strong against a team like that. They told us in the huddle they weren’t giving up.”

Eden Gainer led Wheeling Central with a game-high 23 points, 18 of which came in the first half. Horan (11 points) and Reinbeau (10 points) each reached double figures as well.

Madonna was led by 17 points from Alimario and 13 points from Melnyk.

Wheeling Central will face Tyler Consolidated in the Region 1 tournament opener on Thursday. Madonna opens regional action against Magnolia with the date to be determined.

(Grimm can be reached at agrimm@heraldstaronline.com)

Wheeling Central 48, Madonna 46

Wheeling Central 21-9-10-8 — 48

Madonna 6-12-9-19 — 46

WHEELING CENTRAL (14-9): Horan 4 0-0 11; Gainer 10 0-0 23; Davidson 0 0-0 0; Reinbeau 2 6-6 10; White 1 2-2 4; Mills 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17, 8-8: 48.

MADONNA (17-6): Boniti 3 0-1 6; Staffileno 2 2-2 6; Melnyk 6 0-0 13; Martin 2 0-0 4; Alimario 6 5-7 17; Riccadonna 0 0-0 0; Battista 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19, 7-10: 46.

3-POINT GOALS: Wheeling Central 6 (Horan 3, Gainer 3); Madonna 1 (Melnyk). ASSISTS: Wheeling Central 10 (Davidson 4); Madonna 13 (Boniti 7). REBOUNDS: Wheeling Central 21 (Reinbeau 8); Madonna 20 (Melnyk 6). TURNOVERS: Wheeling Central 24; Madonna 23.

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