Bella Super, Gov. Mifflin Put Scare into WPIAL Champ Canon-Mac in First State Playoff Appearance Since 2020
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Bella Super and District 3 eighth-place finisher Gov. Mifflin had WPIAL champ Canon-McMillan on the ropes Friday in a PIAA Class 6A girls basketball first-round game in Canonsburg.
The Mustangs (18-10) led the Big Macs 33-29 at the end of the third quarter. Canon-Mac, which won its first district title in program history this season, proved its mettle in the fourth to preserve its season.
The Big Macs (22-4) outscored the Mustangs by six in the final quarter for a nail-biting 48-46 victory on their home floor.
Canon-Mac moves on to face District 8 champion Taylor Allderdice in the second round Tuesday. Allderdice beat Upper St. Clair 49-42. Gov. Mifflin's season is over.
Senior guard Samantha Miller drilled two 3s, sophomore wing Brooke Stanton scored five points going 3-for-4 from the line, and senior Madison Clair had four points going 2-for-3 from the line in the fourth for the Big Macs.
Clair led the team with 13 points, Miller had 10, and Stanton nine to lead Canon-Mac.
Super, a junior and all-state third-team selection last year, led all scorers with 25 points. Canon-McMillan head coach John Fontana had this to say about Super when reached by phone early last week.
“She’s really good," he said. "She can score from anywhere. She doesn’t even need much space, and she can break you down off the dribble. She has great moves and she’s strong. She’s as good of a player as we’ve played all year.”
Super had nine of Mifflin's 11 points in the first quarter as the Mustangs took an 11-10 lead. She tacked on five more in the second as the lead remained the same at 21-20 at the break.
Super had four in the third quarter and juniors Brooklyn George (two points) and Bridget Martin (three points) and sophomore Saray Renninger (three points) also chipped in as the Mustangs led by three heading to the fourth.
The back-and-forth final quarter culminated in Super tying the game 46-46 with less than 30 seconds remaining.
A couple Canon-Mac free throws regained it the lead before Super was fouled and sent to the line with a chance to tie the game. She missed both, but the ball went out of bounds off a Canon-Mac player with less than 10 seconds to go.
The Mustangs turned it over and did not get a final shot off.
The state playoff appearance was the first for Gov. Mifflin since 2020. The last time the Mustangs won a state playoff game was 2012, when they went to the 4A semifinals.
Mifflin has no seniors on its roster and will return its entire team. Super will also have a shot at breaking the all-time program scoring record. She finishes her junior season at 1,329 career points. Ashley Espinosa holds the program record at 1,803.
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