Celtic Pride
CRANBERRY TWP — The Pittsburgh Diocesan Tournament was never a part of St. Kilian girls basketball until the past three years.
Now the Celtics are chasing a state championship.
St. Kilian surprised two-time defending Diocesan champion St. Thomas More of Bethel Park, 41-38, in the championship game to reach the eight-team state tourney. The Celtics were scheduled to take on Queen of Angels — the Greensburg Diocesan champion — Friday in Erie to begin the weekend tournament.
“A lot of other people were surprised we won that game (vs. St. Thomas More), but our coaches weren't,” Celtics coach Tony Dave' said. “We really believe in these girls.
“Midway through the season, we won by one point over St. Sebastian. I told the girls after that game to believe in me, because I believe in them. We took off and became a contender after that.”
The St. Kilian starting five includes guards Gianna Timko, Rachelle Haber and Tori Drevna, forwards Tehya Dave' and Maisy Carmody.
Coming off the bench are guards Ava Omasits and Annabelle Pawlowicz, guard-forward Emily Lopez, forwards Kate Burns, Gianna Tabacchi and Mary Elizabeth Koenig.
“We stressed defense and rebounding with this group,” Dave' said. “And we had good team chemistry. Everybody contributed to this team's success at one time or another. It's not a stretch to say that.”
While Tehya Dave' —the team's best athlete and rebounder — and Carmody were the starting forwards, the guard tandem of Timko, Haber and Drevna “really made us go and get us into the tempo we wanted to play,” the coach said.
Assistant coach Chris Carmody agreed.
“It was like a symphony watching those girls work with the ball,” said Carmody, brother of Mars boys varsity basketball coach Rob Carmody.
St. Kilian's hoop success may have arrived a season earlier had it not been for an injury suffered by Haber. She broke an ankle after the Celtics got off to an undefeated start in 2016-17. The team wound up losing in the Pittsburgh Diocesan title game.
This year, St. Kilian went 13-1 in section play and is taking a 26-7 overall record into the state tournament.
Carmody has been coaching the current seventh graders on the team for four years and the eighth-graders for two.
“We've been building this program for the past four years,” he said. “We had open gyms for the players, taught them defense and handling pressure. We could see them getting better and better.
“They faced adversity, trailing games going into the fourth quarter, and found ways to win. They've stuck together as a team.”
St. Kilian has had a girls basketball program for 10 years and never won the Pittsburgh Diocesan tourney until this year.
“There's a good core group coming back next year, too,” Dave' said. “These girls only allowed 25 to 28 points per game.”
The Celtics averaged approximately 45 points offensively.
“Some of these girls will go on to play high school basketball, either with or against each other, depending on where they go,” Carmody said. “It will be fun to watch them.”
