NORTH SEWICKLEY TWP. - Put on a Riverside girls basketball uniform, and automatically, winning a section title is a strict requirement. Well, not exactly - but it just seems that way with the Panthers.

Riverside turned the Section 2-AA championship chase into a three-peat as the Panthers secured their third straight title with a 55-28 victory over Mohawk Thursday during senior night festivities that also included yet another net-cutting ceremony following the game.

Riverside (17-4, 11-1) shared the championship with Beaver (11-1) after the teams split their season series showdown.

"We played a lot of quality teams that are well coached in our section," Panthers' coach John Wolf said after his ball club reeled off its 12th straight win. "To have success against quality opponents, you have to play as a team, and that's what we did. Tonight, we were focused for the entire game."

Amy Gatnarek and Brooke Mulneix, two of the six upperclassmen honored during senior night, highlighted the offense as the Riverside girls laid claim to their fourth section championship in the past five seasons.

Gatnarek scored 25 points, while Mulneix posted a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Kalli Osborne, drawing a starting assignment in the home finale of her varsity career, dished out a team-high five assists.

"Our passing was good, and they were having a hard time

getting back on defense against our fast break," Gatnarek said. "We've been thinking about defending our section title since the summer, and this is why we put in so much work. We'll take what we learned from the regular season, and carry it into the playoffs."

"We were able to get out and run more in the second half," Wolf added. "When the five seniors (Leah Prisuta remained inactive with an ankle injury) came out of the game (with 3:01 left), I hope it's a memory that they'll remember forever."

Lauren Trozzo (six points, five boards) and Kessi Osborne (four points, three assists) were also honored during senior night.

"I thought, with six seniors this season, that we'd have a good chance to win a third straight section title," Mulneix said. "Winning it is like an expectation, especially with me having an older sister (Brittney) who was part of the program before."

Alyssa Natale scored nine points for third-place playoff qualifier Mohawk (13-8, 7-5) as the Warriors were limited to just five field goals in each half.

"We played good sound defense, but we didn't reach and we didn't gamble," Mulneix said after Riverside forced 23 turnovers.

But winning a girls section title is considered a pretty safe bet at Riverside.

The Riverside girls basketball team (17-4, 11-1 in Section

2-AA) travels to Blackhawk for nonleague games at 6:30 and 8 p.m. Monday to wrap up the 2008-09 regular season. The WPIAL playoff pairings meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Embassy Suites in Coraopolis.

ALLEY OOPS: Riverside held a sizable 39-19 edge on the boards as Gatnarek added eight rebounds. The Panthers connected on 10 of their first 12 free-throw attempts.


Riverside 45, Mohawk 20

Emily Ray topped the Riverside JV girls (12-4) with a 14-point performance.