Brutal basketball in store for girls in Section 3, 6-A
Mt. Lebanon girls’ basketball coach Dori Oldaker summed up Section 3 in Class 6 of the WPIAL with one word.”Brutal.”
One big reason why is the teams, which are natural geographic rivals, all return experienced clubs that competed deep into the post-season last winter. Canon-McMillan and Peters Township, which shared the section banner last season, as well as Mt. Lebanon return four starters. Bethel Park would have had three veterans but leading scorer Justina Mascaro (18 points, 9 rebounds per game) is lost for the year because of an ACL injury.
“Really,” said BP skipper Jonna Burke, all of the section teams are our toughest league opponents, but certainly, Peters, Lebo and Canon-Mac have impressive returning teams.”
The Lebo veterans are: senior point guard Kate Sramac (12.4 points, 5.4 assists, 6.2 rebounds per game); senior forward Kenzie Bushee (15.7 points, 8.8 rebounds); junior guard Jess Wilhelm and sophomore forward Jamey Napolean (7.9 points, 6.8 blocks).
Alyssa Hyland, Julia Rabbencek and Nora Kogan played key roles as subs last season and look to fill the void caused by Maura Wallace’s matriculation to John Carroll University. She averaged 7.9 points and 2.4 assists a game last year for the Blue Devils, who finished 16-10 overall after reaching the quarterfinals of the WPIAL playoffs and competing in the PIAA tournament.
“We gained great experience from last year’s season and play-off run,” Oldaker said. “I believe that our bench may be deeper this year. Our goal is to improve every practice and compete in every game. With three proven seniors in leadership positions, we are setting our goals on making a play-off run. If we improve each day in practice, we’ll achieve our objectives.”
Peters Township
The objectives for the Lady Indians are obvious. Peters plans to win a second consecutive section title. The Lady Indians finished tied for first with Canon-McMillan for the top spot in the then Section 4-AAAA with an 11-3 record. The Indians were 18-5 overall.
Bert Kendall welcomes back to his starting line-up sophomore sensation Makenna Marisa (10 ppg.) along with seniors Alyssa Konopka (11 ppg.), Alexandra Zuccarini (5 ppg.) and Emily Konwick, who missed a portion of last year due to a broken bone in her foot.
Kendall looks for junior Lillian Young and sophomore Isabella Mills to fill the void caused by Madison Kerr’s graduation. Kerr, who scored more than 1,000 points in her career, now plays for IUP.
“Both Lillian and Isabella are versatile. They can play any position on the floor,” said Kendall, who enters his fourth season at the helm. “Both are above average shooters with length and speed.”
Speed is not the only strength the Lady Indians possess. They have depth and look for senior Andi McGinnis, junior Olivia Ziegler, sophomore Abby Daniels and freshman Hannah Stuck to see court action.
“We easily go 10 deep. So that’s a big asset and will help us achieve our goals,” Kendall said. “We want to improve our overall record, win a second consecutive section title and progress further in the WPIAL playoffs than we did last season.
“We have developed standards by which we are measured,” Kendall continued. “Every player will need to continue to work towards achieving these standards in our quest to get better every day because teams like Lebo, Canon-Mac and Bethel are going to make it tough.”
Bethel Park
Although injuries have made the going tough at Bethel Park, the Lady Hawks intend on making it tough on section opponents. They return two veterans in Rebecca Rodriguez and Maria Cerro. Each started a portion of last year’s season, which resulted in an 18-7 record that included an appearance in the WPIAL quarterfinals and the PIAA playoffs.
“Maria drives and shoots,” said Jonna Burke. “Becca is a strong defensive player.”
In addition to Mascaro, the Hawks lost Megan Horgan, Christine Kovalchick and Shannon Conely (Canisius) to graduation. However, they anticipate newcomers such as Kamryn Lach, Ashley Spence and Maddie Dziezgowski to fill the voids and make significant contributions. “Kamryn is a shooter,” Burke said. “Ashley is tough around the bucket and Maddie is a slasher.”
Juniors Emma Papalia and Jillian Acker along with freshman Lauren Mullen are expected to be key subs for the Hawks, particularly from the guard slots.
“Our attitude and work ethic are our strengths,” Burke said, “but we lack experience. Regardless, our goal is always to make the playoffs. In order to achieve that goal, we have to shoot the ball well and be stingy on defense.”