Sports

Mt. Lebanon Beats USC in WPIAL Semifinals

The Panthers were defeated by their rival, the Blue Devils, 49-33.

Mt. Lebanon defeated the girls basketball team in the WPIAL semifinals Tuesday night, 49-33.

"We dug ourselves into a hole the first half," said .

USC found themselves down 14-26 after the first half, but came back in the third quarter. The score at the end of the third was 31-33.

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"We came back strong in the second. Then Mt. Lebanon really turned up the heat in the fourth. You can tell they have three veteran guards," Koontz said.

"I think we definitely played really hard. It was really intense. We kept up with them. We know we can beat them, we just came up a little short," said Constance Raftis, a sophomore on the team.

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Raftis said the team will now prepare for states.

"We weren't even supposed to make it to the (WPIAL) playoffs. The coaches believed in us the whole time," she said. "We've improved so much."

The Panthers beat the No. 3 seeded Gateway Gators and the No. 6 Hempfield Spartans to reach the semifinal against the Blue Devils.

"Our girls did a tremendous job. They have a lot of heart," Koontz said.

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