Last year in the WPIAL Class 3A Championship, Erica Gribble put on a performance for the ages in leading Greensburg Central Catholic to a title win against Shady Side Academy. In the rematch on Thursday at the Petersen Events Center, the Bulldogs did not let Gribble play the hero once again. As a result, Shady Side Academy claimed a 57-40 victory, denying GCC the WPIAL three-peat.

Seeing multiple defenders at every turn, Gribble scored just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting before she fouled out in the fourth quarter. Despite her quiet night offensively, the Centurions’ defense kept GCC in the game until the final quarter, when the Bulldogs outscored the Centurions 20-9 to seal their second WPIAL crown in three years.

The third seed Centurions had a strong start to the contest, outscoring the top-seeded Bulldogs 13-8 in the first quarter. Gribble was held scoreless in the stanza, but the junior duo of Morgan Skoloda and Avery Jones combined to score 11 points.

Greensburg Central Catholic’s offense sputtered in the second quarter, though, as GCC (19-7) scored just six points, allowing Shady Side Academy to take a 20-19 advantage into the locker room.

Gribble was limited to just two points in the first half, while SSA’s prolific scorer, Karis Thomas, accounted for only six points. However, Shady Side Academy (23-2) received a big boost from freshman Jocelyn Long in the third quarter, as she scored seven points, helping the Bulldogs produce an 11-0 run that spanned the end of the third into the fourth quarter.

With the Centurions trailing by double digits, GCC was forced to play Gribble through foul trouble. In trying to deny Thomas a layup, however, Gribble was assessed her fifth foul, ending her night with more than three minutes left.

Thomas, meanwhile, saved her best for the fourth quarter, as she scored 10 points in the frame, including shooting 8-of-8 at the charity stripe. She finished with a game-high 21 points, while Cassie Sauer, who missed last year’s game with injury, produced 14 points, and Long added nine points.

Jones paced GCC with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Jayla Peterson netted seven points.

Greensburg Central Catholic, which captured the Class 2A crown in 2024, was aiming to become the first Westmoreland County basketball team to win three WPIAL titles in a row, and the eighth in program history.

Both teams advance to the PIAA Class 3A bracket, which commences on Friday, March 6.