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Sports

Avonworth Defeats Keystone Oaks, 56-31, In WPIAL First Round

Despite the loss, the Lady Golden Eagles finished with a winning record for the first time in nine years and coach Gene Mercuri believes he's got a foundation on which to build.

The Avonworth Lady Antelopes beat , 56-31, in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs on Wednesday night.

"We didn’t show up tonight,” Keystone Oaks coach Gene Mercuri said.  “We couldn’t hit open shots, we turned the ball over, and we didn’t have the same intensity we had the other night.”

The Lady Golden Eagles were held in check offensively all night.

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“They’re comfortable in that defense,” Mercuri said of Avonworth.  “They’ve been playing that all year, and they’ve just about mastered it.  It showed tonight.”

Avonworth shot well from the three-point line, connecting on five of seven.

Lauren Mayernik led Avonworth with 20 points, while Catherine Coasta and MacKenzie Mayernik added 13 and 10 points each.

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Despite the loss, Mercuri said he was proud of his team.

“We didn’t play well tonight, but we have a great group of girls here.  They’ve battled hard all year.  I’m proud of what we accomplished," he said.

Not one Lady Golden Eagle reached double figures.  Alexa Xenakis led with 6 points and Olivia Lippert added 4.

It was the final game for seniors Michela Stump and Amanda Barilla.  Mercuri attributed much of the team’s success this season to their leadership.

“At this level, teamwork and leadership are very important,” he said.  “I’ve had the privilege of working with Michela and Amanda since they were sophomores, and it’s been great getting to know them as players and as people.  They’ll be missed.”

Despite the loss, Mercuri is looking forward to future of the program.

“We have a lot of great things ahead of us in the coming years,” he said.  “We have a bunch of girls who will be seniors next year, and we have a very talented group of freshmen as well.  Bright things are in store for us.”

This season marked the first in nine years that the Lady Golden Eagles finished with a winning record, and their winning performance Friday against New Brighton was the team’s first playoff victory in 15 seasons.

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