St. Gabriel's girls come together, win Diocese of Pittsburgh championship

It genuinely was a team effort for the diocesan champion St. Gabriel girls CYO basketball team.

The Gators rolled past St. Bernard’s, 45-31, in the Diocese of Pittsburgh championship game and wrapped up their season with a sparkling 15-2 record.

“The team did really well this season,” said Ashley Shanahan, who serves as St. Gabriel’s co-coach with her sister, Alyssa. “We were really impressed to see a group of girls from different schools work so well together.

“We weren’t sure what to expect going into the season having so many new players, but everyone was determined from the beginning to play hard and do their best.”

The bulk of the team was made up of Baldwin students, including junior guard Abby Joyce, sophomore forward Anna Wiatrowski, senior forward Ashley Wilson, sophomore point guard Bella Marabito, sophomore guard Drew Martin, senior guard/forward Nicole Luffy, junior forward Nina Dongilli, senior guard Lexie Kennard and junior guard Emily Meador.

Erin LaQuatra (Bishop Canevin), Italia Bernardi (Seton LaSalle) and Josie Richardson (Oakland Catholic) rounded out the squad.

Wilson, Luffy and Kennard were the only seniors on the team.

Kelsey Heenan served as an assistant coach.

“Every girl contributed to each and every win,” Shanahan said. “It was a tough start for us in the diocesan championship game, but everyone stepped up, especially forward Nina Dongilli, who accounted for a number of our points and took over as point guard for a large portion of the game.”

Marabito helped lead a second-half surge with 11 fourth-quarter points.

“We would like to thank the girls for a great year,” Shanahan said, “and thank our fans and especially the parents for their help and support throughout the season.

“We can’t wait for next year.”