Experience, speed have PT thinking big
Peters Township senior and Indiana University recruit Madison Kerr averaged 16 points per game last season for the Indians.
Katie Roupe/ Observer-Reporter Canon-McMillan’s Cheyenne Trest is one of the many key returners for the Big Macs in their quest for a playoff berth.
The days of simply competing in Section 4-AAAA are over for Peters Township girls basketball.
Prior to head coach Bert Kendall’s arrival two seasons ago, the Indians were coming off a 3-19 season and lost 10 games by 20 or more points. The improvement came slowly under the former Bethel Park assistant with seven wins in 2013 and 13 a year ago, but a playoff berth was elusive.
With five starters returning this season, the expectation is a return to the postseason in arguably the toughest section in the WPIAL.
“The message is now is the time,” Kendall said. “This is the year. We’ve been building the program and gaining experience. We expect to win now. Our goal last year was to make the playoffs and we fell short. Obviously, now, this year it’s take the experience and compete for a section championship.”
Peters Township possesses more than maturity. It has one of the top players in the section, a strong frontcourt and depth to play an up-tempo style.
Senior guard Madison Kerr, an Indiana University recruit and two-time first-team selection to the Observer-Reporter’s All-District Basketball Team, is back after averaging 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals per game last season. Kerr, the quarterback of the Indians’ offense and a 1,000-point scorer, will be paired in the backcourt with junior Alyssa Konopka.
The two are also pivotal for a man-to-man defense that held opponents to just 47 points per game last year. To compete in a section with Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, Baldwin, Upper St. Clair and Canon-McMillan, Kendall knows the Indians will need to pressure opponents into mistakes.
“Defense is how you win in this section,” Kendall said. “We’ll play up tempo this year, but in the end, it’s about defense. Our goal is to improve on our defense from last season and lead the section in points allowed. That’s what you have to do. When you’re playing good teams, you have to play good defense and rebound the basketball.”
Junior forward Emily Konwick and senior forward Cameron Morgan, who combined to average 13 rebounds per game a year ago, will lead a strong frontcourt and could help Peters Township score in transition.
Playing up tempo requires depth and the Indians have developed that over the past two seasons. Along with junior Alexandra Zuccarini, who is Peters Township’s fifth starter, the Indians will have sophomore Lillian Young, junior Sydney Hannah, senior Stephanie Bittel, freshman MaKenna Marisa and freshman Isabella Mills to lean on.
“We’re one of the faster, quicker teams I’ve been around,” Kendall said. “We have a lot of team speed and we’ve developed depth. I think we can go eight, nine or 10 deep and that’s going to be a strength for us. With the style we play, there’s a lot of running up and down the floor.”
Last season, four of the Indians’ nine losses came by 10 points or less, leading to a sixth-place finish in the section and they lost four of seven games to end the season, but with leadership and skill from top to bottom, Kendall believes now is the time for the program to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
“When I got here, we had no juniors and we had no seniors,” he recalled. “That’s not an excuse anymore. We have to take advantage of the experience we have and this ought to be the season where we don’t make silly mistakes and we start executing.”
After head coach Frank Zebrasky’s unexpected dismissal in June, Canon-McMillan turned to Lou Waller, a former assistant coach at Waynesburg University under Rudy Marisa, in late August.
Waller, who has coached youth basketball in Canonsburg and AAU programs, inherits two of the top players in the sectio.
Until senior Becca Turney, an Eastern Michigan recruit, suffered a season-ending injury last season, the Big Macs finished third in WPIAL Class AAAA in points per game with 55.
Turney, a 6-4 senior who scored 136 points in less than 11 games as a junior, is joined by junior guard Cheyenne Trest, who made first team on the O-R All-District Basketball Team. She averaged 15.6 points and six assists per game last season and made 59 of her final 61 free throws on the season.
Sophomore Taylor Waller, junior Kierra King and sophomore Erika Haught are among the Big Macs’ top returners, but their head coach stressed patience.
“We’re excited, but the unfortunate thing is new coach, new system and we’re behind,” Lou Waller said. “The other teams have had the same coach, but we’re trying our best to get caught up as quickly as we can.”
Like Peters Township, the Big Macs will run an up-tempo offense that will require an eight-player rotation and a man-to-man defense. Waller can lean on his experience with his roster through youth basketball and AAU teams to adjust.
His players aren’t worried about the competition and the Big Macs are looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
“What people might not know is that in our section, our girls have played with them on AAU teams, so they’re friendly with them,” Waller said. “There’s no fear. They know them so we won’t be concerned. If we can come out of the section a little bit better than last year, that will be positive.”