On a roll: Peters Township girls dominating the competition
With a 52-42 win over Canon-McMillan on Jan. 16 at AHN Arena, Peters Township completed the first half of Section 2 action undefeated with a 6-0 record. The victory also kept the Indians undefeated overall at 15-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class 6A of the WPIAL in girls’ basketball.
In the triumph, Gemma Walker fired in 22 points. Natalie Wetzel pitched in 14 markers and Bri Morreale tossed in 10 tallies.
On the year, Walker is averaging 14.4 points. A senior guard, she is committed to St. Francis University.
Wetzel is averaging 16.3 points to go along with nine rebounds an outing. The 6-foot-3 junior already has more than two dozen Division I offers.
“Natalie is gifted and athletic. There is not much she can’t do,” said PT floor boss Steve Limberiou. “Gemma is a born scorer and one of the best drivers to the rim in the entire WPIAL.”
Both are scoring less than they did last season, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
When Wetzel and Walker managed 18 and 20 points respectively, the Indians finished 13-11 overall last winter. They tied Baldwin for fourth place in the section with a 5-7 record.
“You go back to last year, our record wasn’t great, but we weren’t far away from being good,” Limberiou said. He noted that while Wetzel and Walker are scoring less, the Indians have more players involved in the offense this year.
“The rest of the team is scoring more,” he said. “That diversity has made us tougher to guard.”
While Morreale is averaging 10.8 points per game, Daniela Radulovich is complementing Wetzel inside. The 6-foot-3 junior has been averaging 7.6 points to go along with 7.3 rebounds per game.
While the Indians rank as the best offensive team in Class 6A, averaging 58.7 points per game, they are getting the job done on the defensive end of the court. They allow just 41.2 points per game.
“Defensively, we are giving up nine to 10 less points per game than last year,” Limberiou noted. “There is a commitment on that end.”
While the Indians have allowed a season-low 25 points in a non-league contest against West Mifflin and a section-low 39 points against Baldwin, they were impressive all-around knocking off Chartiers Valley, 53-49, and Mt. Lebanon, 68-48, in key section victories. The Colts and Blue Devils are perennial playoff powers, possessing seven WPIAL titles and four state championships between them since 2009.
In the win against the Lady Colts, Wetzel and Walker both fired in 15 points while Radulovich tacked on 12 tallies. Lilah Turnbull tossed in 20 markers for the Colts, who missed 10 free throws and were without Ella Cupka (11 points, 3 assists).
In the win against Lebo, Walker and Wetzel exploded for 21 and 20 tallies while Alina Sopko provided 11 points. Payton Collins had 15 for the Blue Devils.
Peters Township was scheduled to start the second half of section action hosting Bethel Park on Jan. 19. The Indians will also entertain Upper St. Clair on Jan. 26 before visiting Mt. Lebanon on Feb. 1. The rematch with Chartiers Valley is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 6 at AHN Arena.
OTHER ACTION
Chartiers Valley finished the first half of Section 2 play in second place behind the Lady Indians with a 5-1 record. The Lady Colts were 11-2 overall after beating Mt. Lebanon, 52-39.
In the win, Lilah Turnbull and Emma Reynolds led the way with 17 and 12 tallies. Payton Collins and Clare Cramer each had 11 points for the Blue Devils, who were 3-3 in the section and 7-7 overall at the midway point in the season.
Upper St. Clair edged Bethel Park, 49-46, to pick up its second section win.
Four Panthers scored in double figures including Kate Moore (12), Olivia Terlecki (11), Meredith Huzjak (10) and Claire Rosenberry (10).
The Panthers are 8-8 overall and 2-3 after losing 1,000-point scorer Rylee Kalocay to an ACL injury during the Peters Township game back on Jan. 2.
The Black Hawks dropped to 1-5 in the section and 4-10 overall after the loss to USC. Ella Sabatos and Julia Benlock scored 14 and 13 points during the defeat.