Schedule will test Peters Township girls
To be the best, a team has to play the best.
The Peters Township girls’ basketball team buys into that philosophy.
It’s a philosophy that will be put to the test this year when the Indians play 16 playoff teams from one season ago.
For head coach Bert Kendall, who plays a large part in putting the difficult schedule together, it’s all about buying in.
“We plan it that way,” Kendall said. “We used to be in the bottom third of the section but we’ve turned the program around by playing the best teams. That’s the only way to do it. When you play poor teams, you gain a false sense that you are good. So I tell my athletic director to find the best teams he can for us to play.”
Peters Township athletic director Brian Geyer did exactly that.
In addition to playing in a difficult section, which features rivals Mt. Lebanon and Bethel Park twice on the schedule, Peters Township plays defending WPIAL champions North Allegheny and Chartiers Valley.
The Indians also have an early matchup against Trinity, which reached the PIAA Class 5A championship game last year, along with Norwin and Hampton.
But the Indians are no longer bottom dwellers in Class 6A. They return three key starters from last year’s 14-9 team that was 8-2 in section,which resulted in a second-place finish behind Mt. Lebanon.
The Indians were knocked out in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA tournament by Penn Hills, 58-55.
Returning to the starting lineup for Peters Township is junior Makenna Marisa, a 5-11 forward who earned first-team all-section honors with 17 points, six rebounds and two assists per game.
Marisa, who has started since her freshman season, has scholarship offers from Pitt, Duquesne, Ball State, St. Joseph’s and Cincinnati.
“Makenna is a complete player. We can put her anywhere on the court and she will excel,” Kendall said. “She makes everybody around her better. She leads because of her unselfishness. She’s just special.”
Isabella Mills and Lillian Young also are returning starters. Mills averaged nine points and four rebounds last season. Young, an Edinboro University recruit, averaged 10 points.
“We are returning a combined 40 points and 13 rebounds per game from last year’s squad,” said Kendall.
“That experience and team speed should be our strengths.”
Peters Township will have to adjust in the backcourt after losing Alyssa Konopka and Alexandra Zucarini to graduation.
Kendall is expecting senior Oliva Ziegler and freshman Jordan Bisignani to take over those duties. He is also expecting to have valuable minutes off the bench from Isabella Cuarture and Erin Gummersbach.
“Those players should really help us,” Kendall said.
During their tip-off tournament, the Indians relied on Marisa and Mills. Marisa fired in 29 points and Mills supplied 22 tallies as Peters Township defeated South Park, 60-37, in the opener. In beating West Allegheny, 54-49, Marisa and Mills contributed 27 and 13 markers. The Indians also bested Trinity, 51-35, to raise its record to 3-0. Marisa fired in 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Mills contributed 14 points.
The Indians host Chartiers Valley at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14. The Colts are led by Megan McConnell and Mackenzie Wagner, who scored 23 and 22 respectively in a 53-49 win against No. 3-ranked Penn Hills in the North Allegheny Tournament. The pair also had 24 and 17 respectively in an opening loss to Altoona, 56-46.