Pine-Richland failed to overcome a cold first-half shooting streak and closed out the first half of Section 3-AAAA competition with a 55-39 loss against highly ranked Shaler Monday night at the Pine-Richland gym.
“Our rebounding was very good and our transition offense was effective,” Pine-Richland coach Molly Copple said. “We just didn’t shoot the ball very well.”
Pine-Richland moved to 1-5 in section play and 4-7 overall, while Shaler (5-1, 11-1) remained a game behind Oakland Catholic (6-0, 9-3) in the section standings.
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Shaler broke on top 31-16 at halftime. The second half proved to be a lot closer, with Shaler holding a 24-23 edge in scoring.
“We played decent defense in the second half and played shot for shot with Shaler,” Copple said. “We just need to finish our shots more consistently as we enter the second half of our section (schedule).”
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Val McQuade led Shaler with 18 points, including three 3-point baskets.
Pine-Richland travels to Upper St. Clair for a non-section game Friday night and resumes section competition Jan. 24 against visiting North Allegheny (4-2, 12-2).
Pine-Richland was coming off a 45-36 section loss at North Hills Thursday night.
Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley and Butler all finished the first half of section play with 1-5 records.