A Landslide Victory For NA Over Obama Academy, 71-34

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Following a heartbreaking loss in the WPIAL championship game, the Lady Tigers roared past the Obama Academy Eagles on Friday night, 71-34, in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs. North Allegheny led wire to wire for an impressive win over the City League champions who were making their third straight appearance in the state playoffs.

North Allegheny was also making its third consecutive appearance in the state playoffs and raced to a 26-5 lead in the first quarter. Senior Abby Gonzales scored eight points and dished six assists in the first period alone and was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game. Proving to be the driving force in this victory, Gonzales totaled a game-high 15 points, seven assists and three steals.

Sophomore Piper Morningstar was 3 for 5 from the field in NA’s strong first quarter scoring six points, and was part of an interesting subplot of the game. Morningstar, whose father Darren Morningstar played at the University of Pittsburgh in the early 1990’s was a college teammate of Darelle Porter, another standout at Pitt. Porter’s daughter, Michaela Porter, was on the opposite side of the floor in this PIAA first round game and led a 10-0 run for the Eagles to pull Obama Academy to within 11 points of the Tigers at 26-15 late in the first quarter. Porter netted a team-high 14 points in a losing effort.

Despite the brief swing of momentum, Obama Academy could not chip the deficit down any further and watched the Tigers pull away in the second half. North Allegheny outrebounded the Eagles, 45-24, and shot 50 percent in the second half to garner the win. Senior Taylor Lake tallied a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Sophomore Madelyn Fischer provided 12 points and six rebounds, while Hailey Zeise added 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting from the field.

With the win, North Allegheny improves to 23-4 on the season and will face the Pine-Richland Rams in the second round of the PIAA playoffs on Tuesday night. The game will be broadcast live via the internet on the North Allegheny Sports Network. Obama Academy’s season ends with a 21-5 record.

Girls Basketball vs. Obama Academy, 3-4-16

PIAA First Round
GAME SUMMARY
SCORE BY QUARTERS1234FINAL
North Allegheny303152371
Obama Academy1558634