Peters Township triumphs against Bethel Park
Peters Township defeated Bethel Park, 58-44, on Jan. 22 to take over sole possession of first place in Section 3 of the WPIAL’s Class 6A girls’ basketball division.
With the win, the Lady Indians improved to 5-1 in the league and 12-2 overall. The win snapped the Hawks’s five-game winning streak and dropped them into a three-way tie for second place with Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair. All three were 4-2 in the section. The Hawks, which are 10-4 overall, have not beaten Peters since Dec. 14, 2015.
Peters Township jumped all over the visiting Hawks, stretching a 14-6 first-quarter advantage to 31-16 by intermission. The Lady Indians buried five 3-pointers in the first 16 minutes of play and dominated the boards to take control of the contest.
“We had a goal to out-rebound (Bethel Park) by 10,” said PT floor boss Bert Kendall. “That was a lofty goal. We worked on rebounding this week as much as anything. That’s where we might have had an advantage and it paid off.”
While Makenna Marisa and Isabella Mills both finished in double digits on the boards, with Mills gathering in 18 rebounds, the duo also dominated the offensive glass. Both fired in 11 markers in the decisive first half of action. Marisa finished with 23 points and Mills with 13. Olivia Ziegler provided 10 tallies.
A pair of treys by Mills enabled the Indians to cruise to the 14-6 lead. Her third, 3-pointer ignited a 9-2 run in the second stanza as PT’s advantage stretched to 28-12.
“She can shoot but she is also our leading rebounder,” Kendall said about Mills. “It’s a great combination to have because it makes the defense wonder if they should guard her as a shooter or put a bigger player on her for rebounds.”
In the second half, Bethel Park put on a big rally. The Hawks pulled as close as 10 points, 47-37, with 5:03 to play but they could draw no closer, partly because they converted just 16 of their 60 field goal attempts in the contest.
For the Hawks, Maria Cerro and Olivia Westphal finished in double digits with 14 and 11 respectively. Maddie Dziezgowski chipped in with eight points.