Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Mary Dunn
School: Trinity
Year: Senior
Sport: Basketball
Dunn’s week: The Hillers’ 6-3 center had 52 points to lead Trinity to three wins. She scored 14 in a 47-27 victory over Montour last Monday, added 20 two days later against McGuffey to close out section play and 18 in a non-section game against West Greene Saturday.
The run helped Trinity (18-3) secure second place in Section 5-AAA and the second seed in the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.
“The last three weeks, she’s been a different player,” Trinity head coach Bob Miles said. “She seems more motivated and she seems more focused on the floor. She’s finishing around the hoop better and some of her passes have been much improved. Still, you’re never totally satisfied.”
Marked improvement: Dunn and the Hillers grabbed everyone’s attention two years ago, when they went from a No. 11 seed to a spot in the PIAA playoffs. Last season, Trinity received the eighth seed, but lost in the quarterfinals to eventual WPIAL champion Blackhawk and was eliminated in the PIAA play-in bracket.
One year has made a wealth of difference. Led by junior point guard Sierra Kotchman (18.3 points per game) and Dunn (17.2 ppg), Trinity is the highest-scoring team in Class AAA. But the stat that makes Miles and the Hillers proud is on the other end of the court.
The Hillers are allowing just 37.3 points per game – the fewest in Class AAA.
“We work more as a team now and we’re all really comfortable with each other,” Dunn said. “Before it was all individual parts, but now we’re all together. We play a zone now and all together, as a team, we focus on defense during 75 percent of practice and that has been working really well for us.”
The combination of strong guard play and the developing inside presence of Dunn, has made a difference. A Youngstown State recruit, Dunn is averaging more than 11 rebounds per game and her presence was a major factor in Trinity’s non-section win over South Park, which entered the week ranked ninth in the PIAA by PennLive.com, to close out the regular season.
She had 13 rebounds and 11 blocks to go with her 22 points.
“An area that has improved over the last couple of weeks has been her outside shooting,” Miles said. “That 12- to 15-foot jumper that she’s been knocking down on a regular basis for us makes those big players have to come out, pulls them away from the basket and opens up the drive for Sierra and for (sophomore guard Alayna Cappelli).”
Making a run: Trinity entered the week ranked seventh in the PIAA, but the ranking it received Tuesday night meant more to the Hillers. They received the second seed in the Class AAA playoffs – behind section rival South Fayette – and will open the postseason against either Belle Vernon or Central Valley next Wednesday at Canon-McMillan (6:30 p.m.).
Since their second loss to South Fayette, the Hillers are on a five-game winning streak, where they are allowing just 33.4 points per game.
“We realized that if we wanted to get to where we needed to go, we had to pick it up,” Dunn said. “It was an eye opener and I think in a way it helped us. Now we know what we’re up against. If we can’t beat South Fayette, we can’t win it.”
Compiled by Lance Lysowski