Peters Township girls looking for a more fulfilling season
Indians not satisfied with 24-3
Peters Township enjoyed a 24-3 season in girls basketball last winter. However, those results were far from fulfilling.
The Lady Indians captured a section title banner but fell shy of vying for any championships. They lost in the semifinals of the WPIAL Class 6A tournament and the second round of the PIAA state playoffs.
“Our goals and expectations start around not being satisfied about going 24-3 last season,” said PT floor boss Steve Limberiou. “Our goal is to become the absolute best version of ourselves, which is to be extremely hard to play against in February and March.”
Although they have moved down a classification, the Lady Indians will be a challenge for their 5A foes because they return three pivotal players: Natalie Wetzel, Bri Morreale and Daniela Radulovich.
A 6-3 senior, Wetzel was the Class 6A Player of the Year in 2024. A University of Miami (Florida) recruit, she averaged 17 points and eight rebounds a game. Morreale managed eight points, three boards and three assists a game while Radulovich provided seven tallies and pulled down eight rebounds.
Filling the vacancies caused by the graduation of Melanah Khalil and Peri Cendroski and the matriculation to St. Francis University by Gemma Walker, the Indians look to two, highly-toted newcomers: Taylor McCullough, a 5-6 point guard; and Jordyn Welsh, a 5-10 wing. Both are freshmen that already have multiple Division I scholarship offers.
“They have a ton of potential to be impact players for us,” Limberiou said.
Alina Sopko, Megan Castor, Maddyn Mehl and Gabby Catalogna will also make significant contributions. Spoke and Mehl are 5-6 guards while Catalogna is a 5-7 senior wing that has competed on two state championship teams in golf.
“Alina is a starting caliber player for most programs in the WPIAL and someone we have a lot of confidence in coming off the bench,” Limberiou said. “Megan is a really dependable and smart player that can shoot well and knows how to play offensively without the ball in her hands.
“Madden is a plus shooter whose confidence has taken a step forward from last season,” Limberiou continued. “Gabby knows how to win. She’s a good shooter who can contribute off the bench.”
While size, shooting and playmakers are Peters Township’s assets, the Lady Indians have areas they need to improve in order for them to contend for the Section 4 banner and possibly for the WPIAL championship.
“We have uncommon size for high school basketball with two 6-3 starters which provides a bunch of unique advantages,” Limberiou said. “We also feel that we have a bevy of good to great 3-point shooters who allow us to space the floor. We also have several good penetrators off the dribble who can create shots for others.
“We need to be better in our unscripted offense though. Specifically utilizing triggers in the half-court to generate advantages-what we like to call organized randomness,” Limberiou continued. “We also need to score more points offensively in transition and our rebounding. That broke down against good teams in the playoffs. This must improve, as well.
“We have been focused on fixing the areas we need to improve in order to become a more, well-rounded team that can win in multiple different ways.”
While the Lady Indians are expected to be one of the top teams in Class 5A, they expect Thomas Jefferson to throw up a roadblock in their attempts to claim the Section 4 banner the , not just with teams like Thomas Jefferson, in Section 4 as well as three-time defending champion South Fayette and Chartiers Valley to battle them for the WPIAL title.
To prepare for opponents, like the Jaguars, who had several new players transfer into the school district, the Lady Indians have beefed up their non-conference schedule. Four out-of-state games against premier opponents from around the country will prepare Peters Township for the playoffs.
“We respect all of our opponents. There are many good coaches and players just in this section. TJ has a talented roster,” Limberiou said.
We have to work to improve on a daily basis and specifically become better at our areas of improvement including unscripted offense, transition offense and rebounding.”
For the Lady Indians, it’s a journey that commenced Dec. 3 against Canon-McMillan.
Peters Township downed the Lady Macs, 60-42. Wetzel led all scorers with 25 tallies. Welsh followed with 10 markers and Radulovich provided nine points.
After tournament play in Altoona and at Shaler, Peters Township tips off section play at Thomas Jefferson at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13.
“The best programs at high levels emphasize having a great process over being a program that is only fixated on results. Having a great process leads to great results over time,” Limberiou said. “It’s a philosophy that former Alabama football coach Nick Saban talked about and it’s something that I fully subscribe to.”