Area basketball teams prepare for the playoffs
With teams such as Norwin, Blackhawk, Chartiers Valley, Aliquippa and Seton-La Salle returning to the playoffs, local basketball teams allow the defending champions the respect due them as they prepare for the WPIAL tournament.
Of the Cougars, whom South Fayette faced in last year’s Class AAA girls’ final at the Petersen Center, Lions’ head coach Matt Bacco said, “They are the champions until someone beats them.”
CV girls’ coach Dan Slain agreed with the assessment and added the Lions in the mix.
“In my humble opinion and with all due respect to last year’s champion, I feel that there are two opponents to consider as the ones to watch and both teams are from our section, South Fayette and Trinity,” he added. “Both teams are talented. They are well-coached and they know how to win with the nod going to South Fayette.”
After claiming the Section 5-AAA banner with an undefeated record of 12-0, the Lions are anxious to embark on their quest for the title. South Fayette was runner-up to Blackhawk last year.
The WPIAL playoffs commence this week with preliminary and first-round contests and conclude Feb. 26-27 with the championships, again set for the University of Pittsburgh’s facility.
“It’s a long season,” said Bacco of the 22-game campaign already completed by most clubs. “Fatigue is the biggest concern. The kids have to take care of their bodies.”
Slain concurred. As the saying goes for the “journey through the tourney” it will be to “survive and advance.” To accomplish that goal, the keys to success will be to compete with a consistently high level of focused intensity on each and every possession on both ends of the court. “And,” he added, “to keep everyone healthy and to avoid a major injury.”
Throughout the tournament, Bacco added, the key to success will be defense. “It’s always defense,” he said.
While the Lions, who are allowing 40.8 points per game, and the Cougars (43.7) are playing some of the best defense in Class AAA, Norwin is playing the best in the league, permitting just 31.8 points per game. That makes the undefeated Knights favorites to defend their title in Quad-A.
“Clearly, Norwin is the team that stands out above everyone else,” said Bethel Park head coach Jonna Burke. “Currently ranked No. 1 in the state and undefeated is a pretty strong case for them to be the ones with the target on their backs.”
The Hawks were the targets in Section 4-AAAA this winter and Burke’s club was dethroned as league champions by Peters Township and Canon-McMillan. Both shared the section banner, posting 11-3 slates. BP tied Mt. Lebanon for runner-up honors, as each submitted 10-4 records.
BP’s losses exposed their weakness. Justina Mascaro and Shannon Conely lead the Hawks in scoring. Their 18.4 and 16.8 averages respectively, ranked them among the point leaders in the WPIAL.
“The most important thing for our team to be successful in the post season is to have some balance. We need everyone to contribute offensively,” Burke said.
“I’m pleased with the fact my girls have been playing tough and have overcome some adversity to get back to the playoffs but we cannot afford to disappear on offense for multiple possessions, which points back to the importance of balance for us.”
Balance has been the secret to the Lady Macs’ and Indians’ success. Only Cheyenne Trest and Madison Kerr rank among the scoring leaders in the league with 17.5 and 15.9 averages respectively.
The C-M point guard, Trest, however, shares the spotlight with Rebecca Turney, Taylor Waller, Kierra King and Isabella Allen. A 6-4 center, Turney is an Eastern Michigan commit.
While Kerr ignites the Indians attack, the 5-9 senior also leads the team in rebounding. However, the Lady Indians are a well-balanced group that plays well together. The unit includes talented freshman Makenna Marisa along with Alyssa Konopka, Ally Zuccarini and Morgan Cameron. That trio provides a strong spark from the outside because of its ability to knock down the 3-pointer.
At Mt. Lebanon, all Dori Oldaker wants is for her players to focus on themselves. The Lebo ladies may be led offensively by McKenzie Bushee’s 15.7 points per game but they have benefited throughout the season by strong performances from Kate Sramac as well as Maura Wallace, a senior who has ties to Lebo’s championship years.
While Oldaker said that everything regarding the playoffs concerns her, she said that’s her job to worry about them. “My players’ job is to show energy, enthusiasm and execution. Our goal is to win the first game.
“We expect to get a very tough, first-round draw, however, we have played an extremely tough non-section schedule,” noted Oldaker of contests against PIAA powers such as State College, Central Dauphin, Cumberland Valley and Altoona.
“With our extremely tough section, we are excited to make the playoffs this year,” Oldaker continued. “There are so many great teams in this tournament. Our focus is only on one team and that team is our team.”
In Quad-A boys’ basketball, the focus appears to be on Latrobe, which enters the playoffs as Section 1 champions and with one loss during the 2015-16 campaign.
“Latrobe is very good and balanced scoring-wise,” said Tim McConnell. The Chartiers Valley skipper also noted the experience of Pine-Richland, the Section 3 co-champion with Central Catholic and North Hills as well as the athleticism of Penn Hills. “Bethel Park is also playing really well right now. They could be the sleeper.”
McConnell knows plenty about the Hawks as they finished tied for second place with Baldwin behind his Colts in Section 4. The Colts, who are the defending Quad-A champions, also have the chance to see Peters Township and Mt. Lebanon in the post season. Despite losing their final section game, the Indians, on a buzzer-beater by Carson Miller to Canon-McMillan, 65-64, and Lebo to Upper St. Clair, 54-47, the two squads tied for the fourth and final playoff spot in the section with 7-7 slates.
Each of the Section 4 teams has at least one player ranked among the scoring leaders.
Eddie Flohr leads the Colts with a 19.4 average followed by Ross Wilkerson, who manages 16.4 points per game. Joe Antonucci dominates the inside for the Colts, who are the reigning Quad-A champions, while Caleb Zajicek and Coleman Vaughn are 3-point threats.
“I love the way we are shooting the ball and the way we are playing defense,” McConnell said. “Our depth concerns me a little. We must stay out of foul trouble and rebound the ball.”
At 6-foot-6, rebounding is one of Jake Dixon’s fortes. He fired in 16 points in an 82-80 win against McKeesport over the weekend. Brandon Thorsen had the buzzer-beater. Josh Duda, who averages 15.9 points, fired in 23 while Chance Wright followed with 20 and Levi Metheny provided 17. Metheny exploded for 27 points in the final section win against Baldwin, 79-61. Duda and Wright followed with 17 and 12. So balance is a key to BP’s success.
“I am most pleased with how unselfish our players have been,” said Josh Bears, who is in his first season at BP. “They truly do not care who does the scoring. Their willingness to share the ball and trust each other has been fun to watch.”
Bears also noted that the teams that have had to face some adversity and struggles at some point in the season have the upper hand heading into the post season. “Being that they survived it and still made it to the playoffs shows they can handle it,” he said.
Peters Township, which is led offensively by Nick Valentic and Kelson Marisa, and Lebo are two examples of this as they needed the last day of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs. Both are breathing a sigh of relief as they each narrowly qualified despite losing their last games.
“We battled all year and I’m proud of my guys and we are thankful for getting in,” said PT skipper Gary Goga. “We have to do the little things better than whoever we play in order to be successful in the tournament. The little things, rebounding, defending, getting loose balls and outworking our opponents, are what concern me the most.”
Simple things concern Joe David as his Blue Devils prepare for the post season. Mark Lamendola leads Lebo with a 15.9 scoring average.
“Making shots and getting stops defensively will be the keys,” David said.
“Honestly, though, nothing concerns me. I’m just excited that this young team gets a chance to compete in the playoffs. I am pleased that the team is maturing and playing with confidence that they can compete with anybody.”
David and Goga put their teams on par with any of the Quad-A contenders.
“I don’t know about many of the teams in the other sections and quite honestly I am just putting my efforts into getting us better each day,” David said. “There are many teams that can pull this off since at this point there is nobody that is head and shoulders above the rest.”
Bears agreed. “Honestly, the parity is a concern,” he said. “I feel like we have a strong team with determined leaders. But in this particular year, anyone can beat anyone. You have one bad quarter and you are going down. Whichever team is able to avoid a letdown and just get hot at the right time is going to take this thing.”
Goga added that he is pulling for every team in Section 4. “The coaches we go against are awesome, good kids on the opposing teams, and good communities,” he said. “If we don’t get it done, I’m pulling for Char Valley, Baldwin, Bethel and Lebo. Best of luck to them all, unless of course we go against them,” he added.
In Class AA boys’ and girls’ action, it is certain that Bishop Canevin and Seton-La Salle are not rooting for each other. The Rebels recently dashed the Crusaders dreams. The girls prevented Canevin from winning the Section 3-AA banner, scoring a 44-38 upset. Gina Vallecorsa scored 16 for the Crusaders and Madalena Psillidis led SLS with 12 tallies. The Rebels are the defending Class AA champions, having beaten Canevin in last year’s final.
Meanwhile, George Mike’s bucket with 1.5 seconds to play sealed SLS’s upset win against Canevin, 55-53. Billy O’Malley and Cletus Helton led the Rebels with 17 and 15 points. Walter Bonos and Mitchell King topped 20 and 15 markers for the Crusaders. The loss is the lone blemish on Canevin’s 13-1 section record.
Joining SLS and Canevin in the playoffs is Chartiers-Houston. The C-H boys’ closed out league play with a stunning performance from A.J. Myers. In an 87-49 win against Fort Cherry, Myers exploded for 39 points. In addition to notching his 1,000th career point, he shattered the school record with eight, 3-point field goals.