By JOSE NEGRON
A year after enduring a winless summer, Cedarbrook is heading to the Mon Valley Independent Summer Basketball league girls championship game.
Top-seeded Cedarbrook took their first lead less than a minute into the game and never looked back, rolling to a 62-39 victory over No. 4 Monessen Florist in a semifinal matchup Monday at Marx’s Court Time Sports Center.
The win sets up a championship matchup between Cedarbrook (10-0) and AMD Industries (8-3), the second-seeded team and defending champions.
“I’m so proud of every single one of these kids,” said Mariah Ward, who is in her first season as Cedarbrook head coach. “The way they battled to get here has been unbelievable. They’re just a great group of kids.”
Cedarbrook dominated with their full complement of players at their disposal.
Clairton freshman Iyanna Wade made perhaps the biggest impact for Cedarbrook as she scored a game-high 22 points, including 12 in the first half.
Wade’s play was especially critical in the opening three minutes of the game when she scored eight of Cedarbrook’s first 10 points to give them an early six-point cushion.
“I think it took her some time to get used to everybody,” Ward said of Wade. “She’s playing with different girls all the time, but now that she’s playing with a group she knows she can trust, I think that brings out the next level for her.”
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