WHITEHALL — With just a minute remaining, the Knoch girls basketball team trailed higher-seed Belle Vernon by just five points and had the ball.

A shot that would have put the underdog Knights down by just a possession rimmed out and the Leopards responded on the other end with a pair of free throws.

Knoch's upset bid was promptly derailed in a 54-45 loss Saturday afternoon in the first round of the WPIAL 4A playoffs at Baldwin High School.

“Not surprising that they would play hard and play to the end because that's who they are,” said Knoch coach Chris Andreassi. “That's how they're wired.”

Knoch (11-12) did not back down against Belle Vernon (18-5), despite trailing by 10 for most of the game.

The Knights never led.

But they never wilted, either.

“We kind of always lingered around that 10-point lead for much of the game,” said Belle Vernon coach Lisa Fairman, who notched her 100th win as a coach with the victory. “We missed some opportunities when we could have jumped up to a more significant lead. But I have to give Knoch credit. They just kept fighting and battling.

“They just wouldn't go away.”

The Knoch seniors made sure of that.

Casey Kretzer made a pair of deep 3-pointers; Emily Fraser scored seven of her 13 points in the first quarter; Kayla Grafton was 6 of 8 from the foul line and Gabby Fennell made two big shots in the second half to stem Belle Vernon's momentum and keep its biggest lead of the game of 15 points from getting any bigger.

That has made things even more difficult for Andreassi to see their run end.

Those four of the core group of seven seniors have started for the better part of three-plus seasons.

“It's very hard for me. It's a very special group of girls,” Andreassi said, his voice cracking. “And I'm going to miss them.”

Belle Vernon is also a senior-laden team and one in particular had a huge impact in a game that was ostensibly decided at the free throw line.

Guard Keira Boff scored a game-high 23 points. She was 18 of 20 from the line and made 12 in a row in the first half to help the Leopards to a 36-25 lead at the break.

The rest of the team was only 1 of 10 from the free throw line.

Andreassi watched fourBelle Vernon games on film and said he didn't see Boff handle the ball or drive to the hoop in any of them as much as she did Saturday.

“We didn't prepare for her as a ballhandler,” Andreassi said. “I guess that's my fault.”

Fairman said the flow of the game put the ball in Boff's hands far more than typical.

“Sometimes it just kind of depends on the defense people are playing,” Fairman said. “She's always a pivotal part of the game.

“She played big tonight. When she drove tonight, she drove hard and she drove with authority and she was able to draw the foul.”

Knoch struggled at the line, sinking just 11 of 24.

Still, the Knights had a chance late.

“They never folded once all year,” Andreassi said. “Out of 23 games, there was one game where we got blown out and weren't competitive. No matter what the score was, they always fought back.”

Belle Vernon will play Beaver in the quarterfinal round Thursday.

KNOCH 45

Hannah Rowe 1-2 1-2 3, Kayla Grafton 1-6 6-8 8, Gabby Fennell 3-11 2-4 9, Emily Fraser 6-9 0-3 13, Casey Kretzer 2-6 2-7 8, Anna Neff 0-1 0-0 0, Skylar Burkett 1-1 0-0 2, Kayla Edward 0-0 0-0 0, Sadie Siegel 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 15-37 11-24 45.

BELLE VERNON 54

Taylor Kovatch 1-6 0-3 3, Kelsey Green 1-1 1-2 3, Keira Boff 2-8 18-20 23, Caitlyn Trombley 2-9 0-5 6, Rylie Campbell 5-9 0-0 10, Lindsay Steeber 4-6 0-0 9, Grace Henderson 0-0 0-0 0, Rachel Wobrak 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Rodriguez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-31 19-30 54.

Knoch 14 11 10 10 — 45

Belle Vernon21 15 12 6 — 54

3-point goals: Knoch 4 (Fennell, Fraser, Kretzer 2); Belle Vernon 5 (Kovatch, Boff, Trombley 2, Steeber)