NA team to beat in WPIAL girls’ basketball
Fans of girls’ basketball may have gotten a preview of what the WPIAL Class 6-A final will look like when No. 1 North Allegheny (22-0) battled No. 2 Peters Township (19-3) in a non-section contest.
Though the Tigers topped the Indians, 67-54, in their meeting on Feb. 8, Bert Kendall is preparing for a different result should the two teams meet for the championship scheduled for 7 p.m. March 3 at the Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland campus.
“I’d love to have another shot at them,” said the PT coach.
“They were the better team. No question. No excuses,” he continued, “Hopefully, we’ll be better prepared next time.”
The next time would be in the WPIAL final because the Tigers and the Indians are on opposite sides of the Class 6-A bracket and seeded No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. Both received first-round byes and will not play until the quarterfinals set for Feb. 23. The Tigers will play the winner between Upper St. Clair and Butler in a game set for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at North Hills. The Indians will face the winner of the Hempfield vs. Seneca Valley contest set for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at Fox Chapel.
Until that next time, the Indians will focus on defense. Foremost they plan to contain the Tigers’ outside shots because they drained 12 shots from beyond the arc, including eight 3-pointers in the first half in beating the Indians. They constructed as much as a 50-36 advantage before Peters cut the margin to 54-53 on a trey from Lillian Young with 2:32 to play.
“We made a comeback,” Kendall agreed. “The next time we play them, we have to defend the three a little better. They shoot the ball well. We need to do a little better job of rebounding, too.”
The Tigers are undefeated this season and ranked No. 1 in the district and the state for several reasons.
Rachel Martindale ranks among the WPIAL scoring leaders with a 15.6 average. She tallied that many in the win against the Indians. Piper Morningstar, who is a Radford University recruit, and Madelyn Fisher are forces inside. Fisher scored 18 against the Indians. Plus, Courtney Roman, Lizzy Groetsch and Brynn Serbin torched the Indians from beyond the arc.
“They are a good team,” Kendall said, “but we feel we’re right there. We feel we can play with them. We came back on them. We think we can make it exciting.”
While Young and Olivia Ziegler added to the drama, finishing with 14 and 10 tallies respectively, Makenna Marisa thrilled the crowd by scoring her 1,000{sup}th{/sup} point with 2:04 to play in the third quarter.
Marisa has drawn the praises of section rivals. The junior ranks among the top five scorers in the WPIAL with a 23.1 average.
According to rival coach Pete Serio, Marisa is the “best player” in the WPIAL. “As a team, you can only hope to contain her. She does everything well. She rebounds, she passes and she always seems to guard the other team’s best player,” said the Upper St. Clair skipper.
Marisa and her Indians played in the most competitive division in the WPIAL and survived, outlasting rivals like Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, USC, Canon-McMillan and Baldwin to capture the Section 3 banner with a 9-1 record. After playing Norwin on Monday (Feb. 12), the Indians finished the regular season with a 19-3 overall record.
BP and Lebo are quite familiar with the Indians as well as the Tigers. Lebo handed the Indians their lone league loss but they played in NA’s tipoff tournament and faced the Tigers, losing twice to them in last year’s playoffs. The Tigers only lost one starter from last year’s 28-2 championship club.
“Without a doubt, NA is the team to beat,” said Lebo head coach Dori Oldaker. “They just reloaded this year. They are so talented across the board and they can go deep into their bench. They will be tough to beat.”
BP played NA in last year’s WPIAL final and lost to the Tigers, 57-43, on Jan. 27.
Jonna Burke notes how the Tigers are tough to play catch-up with when they are knocking down their shots. Plus, they are difficult to match up with because of their versatility.
“For a team to compete with them, they have to find a way to keep them from penetrating into the paint and at the same time defend the shooter,” Burke said. “They are very deserving of their number one ranking.”
The Hawks closed out the regular season with wins against Shaler, 50-33, and Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, 54-46. They enter the post-season with a 16-5 record and riding a five-game winning streak since losing to the Tigers.
The Hawks present a strong inside-outside punch with guards Maria Cerro, Kam Larch, a Carlow recruit, and Olivia Westphal and forwards Maddie Dziezgowski and Ashley Spence.
BP earned the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the Class 6-A tournament. The Hawks will play the winner of the Latrobe-vs-Shaler game set for Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Plum in the quarterfinals, which are scheduled for Feb. 23.
Lebo followed PT and BP in the section standings. With a split in games over the weekend, losing at Altoona, 44-36, but beating Hickory, 55-37, the Blue Devils finished the record season at 11-11 overall. Having played many a playoff team, they are prepared for a post-season run under Oldaker.
“We are still a “work in progress,” Oldaker said. “This is a new season and we feel that we are ready to compete in the post season. We played a brutal regular season schedule that has hopefully prepared us for these playoffs. Our first eight games were on the road. Five of our 11 losses are from out-of-state teams. We have dealt with adversity and persevered and we are looking forward to the next challlenge.”
The next challenge is Penn Hills (13-8). The Indians were the fourth-place finisher in Section 2. The clash between the Blue Devils and Indians is set for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at Baldwin.
Class 5-A & more
While NA may be the dominate opponent at the highest level in the WPIAL, Class 5-A is wide open and well-balanced. Defending champion, Chartiers Valley, which is led by Megan McConnell (19.7 ppg.) and Mackenzie Wagner (18.2 ppg.), finished runner-up to West Allegheny (9-1) in Section 1. South Fayette, which reached last year’s PIAA Final Four, followed in third place. The Lions are coming off a triple-overtime loss, 66-59, to Trinity. The Hillers won the Section 3 title with a 12-0 slate and finished the regular season at 19-3. They were PIAA runners-up last winter.
Trinity garnered the top seed in the Class 5-A playoffs, which will culminate in the championship game set for 3 p.m. March 3 at the Petersen Event Center. While the Hillers take on Plum at 8 p.m. Feb. 16, South Fayette will challenge Oakland Catholic at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16 at Upper St. Clair. Should Trinity and South Fayette win, they would meet in the quarterfinals set for Feb. 24 at a site and time to be determined.
While recent 1,000-point scorer Sam Kosmacki leads the Lions, Alayna Cappelli and Riley DeRubbo are the lynchpins for the Hillers. Cappelli surpassed 1,000 career points in the win over the Lions.
Meanwhile, CV and West-A are also on the same side of the bracket and could meet in the quarterfinals. The Colts take on Armstrong at 8 p.m. Feb. 16 at Fox Chapel while West-A plays Woodland Hills at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16 at Fox Chapel
While Keystone Oaks ranks among the top team in the Quad-A tournament, Bishop Canevin looks to defend its Class AAA crown. The Crusaders posted an undefeated mark in claiming the Section 3 banner. The Golden Eagles won Section 3 with a 13-1 slate.
Gillian Piccolino and Brionna Allen rank among the scoring leaders in the WPIAL, averaging 17.7 and 15.6 points for their respective clubs.
After a first-round bye, KO will play the winner of the Central Valley-vs-Deer Lakes contest being played at 3 p.m. Feb. 17 at North Hills. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Feb. 22 at sites and times to be determined.
Bishop Canevin, which was the PIAA runner-up last year, also received a first-round bye in the Class 3-A tournament and will commence defense of its title in the quarterfinals set for Feb. 24. The Crusaders will play the winner between South Side Beaver and Laurel. That game is being played at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.