Trinity in semifinals zone
Trinity’s offense has created quite a predicament for opposing coaches. Should a defense focus on stopping Trinity’s guards who can drive to the basket and have strong outside shots, or allow the Hillers to shoot from the outside while clogging up the lane to stop senior center Mary Dunn?
South Park discovered how difficult it is to slow Trinity, when it played a box-and-one defense to stop junior guard Sierra Kotchman, whom coaches call the key to Trinity’s offense, in the WPIAL quarterfinals. That gave sophomore guard Alayna Cappelli room to sink three consecutive three-pointers to help Trinity pull away for the win. When forward Abby O’Connor missed a game earlier this season, senior Delaney Elling scored a career-high 11 points.
Dunn and Kotchman, who each average more than 17 points per game and surpassed 1,000 career points this season, grab the headlines, but a balanced scoring effort has the Hillers ready to play perhaps the biggest game in program history. Second-seeded Trinity (20-3) plays sixth-seeded Mars (19-5) tonight in a WPIAL Class AAA semifinal game at West Allegheny (8 p.m.).
“Those two have meant a lot of wins for sure,” Trinity head coach Bob Miles said of Dunn and Kotchman. “Teams concentrate so much on stopping them that they kind of forget about those other parts. It could be Alayna tonight, it could be Abby O’Connor tomorrow night, it could be anybody.”
The Hillers are confident in a nine-player rotation, and those players have helped Miles find the perfect complement to a potent offense.
After playing mostly man defense last season, Miles opted for more zone to take advantage of the Hillers’ size and experience.
Though Trinity still utilizes its man-to-man, its zone has been key to the Hillers holding opponents to a Class AAA-low 37 points per game.
Having one of the bigger girls basketball teams in Class AAA can force opponents to rely on quickness, so Miles decided to experiment with the zone. It has produced more turnovers and a transition game that is difficult for opponents to stop. If Dunn or O’Connor gets in foul trouble, Elling can fill in. If Kotchman or Cappelli struggle, Adison Mamula also is a perfect fit for a zone.
“We couldn’t get the right matchups on the floor and found ourselves either giving up drives to the basket or getting ourselves into silly foul trouble because we were reaching or not moving our feet,” Miles said. “It was an osmosis type of thing. We have the people to play a zone, so let’s play it and see how it goes.”
Since deciding to play more zone, Trinity has won seven of its last eight games and held opponents to fewer than 45 points seven times. In two playoff games, Trinity allowed a combined 68 points.
It’s been a complete turnaround for the Hillers, who allowed 59 ppg during last year’s postseason.
In its 2-3 zone, which often leads to points in transition for Class AAA’s highest-scoring offense, Trinity has Cappelli and Kotchman forcing turnovers on top. In the lane and on the baseline, the Hillers have size and wing span with Dunn, a 6-3 Youngstown State recruit, O’Connor and senior guard Natalie Cappelli, an overlooked component of Trinity’s defense according to Miles.
That defense also helped form one of the WPIAL’s top scoring duos in Kotchman (17.9 ppg) and Dunn (17.8).
“The defense has a lot to do with that, plus we get out in transition very well for having such a big team,” Miles said. “The girls are running the floor well and the ball is being distributed ahead. If we have the opportunity to get out and run, we’re taking it. Our guards are playing much better and that’s given us the opportunity to score more.”
If the Hillers aren’t thriving in transition, they are creating mismatches in half-court sets with their guards and Dunn. It’s pick your poison and some teams pick the wrong dose. When teams play a zone to prevent the drive, Kotchman has no hesitation barreling through a defender to draw a foul, finish with a layup or pass to an open teammate. It is that strategy that has helped create chances for Dunn.
When Kotchman and Dunn each score at least 15 points, the Hillers are 10-0. That combo, plus depth and of course, defense, has Trinity two wins away from the program’s first WPIAL title.
“We’re having a lot of fun,” Kotchman said. “Practices are really exciting. After games and after the wins, it’s a great atmosphere. We’re definitely more mature and we’re playing with a lot of confidence.”