Trinity’s 1-2 punch: Cappelli, DeRubbo give Hillers more options
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Trinity’s Alayna Cappelli (15) looks for room around Peters Twp’s Lauren Stahl during the second quarter
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter
Trinty freshman Riley DeRubbo drives along the baseline past Gateway’s Mary Kromka. DeRubbo contributed eight points to Trinity’s 58-54 overtime win in the WPIAL playoff game on February 25 at North Allegheny.
If you had asked Trinity High School girls basketball coach Bob Miles before the season if his team would go undefeated in section play and also have a 19-3 record entering the playoffs, he probably would have answered no.
Though there was optimism of another successful season for Trinity, even with the departure of all-time leading scorer Sierra Kotchman, who finished with 1,706 points, Hillers guards Alayna Cappelli and Riley DeRubbo would have agreed with Miles.
“We thought that we would be very competitive and get better (as the year went on),” Miles said. “We thought we would be a dangerous team come the end of January and beginning of February. But did we expect to be 19-3? To be honest, no.”
The only losses Trinity has suffered were against Abington High School and Gilmour Academy (Ohio) at the North Allegheny Christmas Tournament. The Hillers also lost to Peters Township in the third game of the season.
Gilmour Academy, a Catholic boarding school in the Cleveland suburb of Gates Mills, Ohio, has had three straight 20-win seasons. Abington, a Class 6A school just north of Philadelphia, made the state tournament four consecutive years. Peters Township, a classification higher than Trinity, will likely be the No.2 seed when the WPIAL playoff field is revealed Tuesday evening.
“The non-section schedule is what was critical for us getting better,” Miles said. “We got to see a little bit of everything, good man-to-man teams and good zone teams. The experience has been great for our kids.”
It also could have Trinity in contention for the No. 1 seed in Class 5A.
But how did the Hillers get there?
There was no Kotchman, who has taken here high-scoring show to Fairmont State.
There are three starters in the lineup.
Miles turned to Cappelli, a four-year starter, and DeRubbo, a sophomore who plays well beyond her years after growing up in gymnasium with her mother, Jina, the head coach of the Washington & Jefferson College women’s program, for answers this season.
“The experience they gained last year has carried over and they’ve come through,” Miles said about his backcourt.
Having multiple experienced guards – Cappelli and Kotchman – was the biggest strength in the Hillers’ exciting state title run last year. Not only did having a pair of reliable guards help Trinity control the tempo, it also limited what teams could do defensively against the Hillers.
This year is much of the same with Cappelli and DeRubbo.
“It’s a one-two punch,” Miles said. “Alayna has a really high basketball IQ. She sees other team’s weaknesses. Riley is the same mold but a different style. She is not just a shooter. She is a scorer. Sometimes you look at (Riley) and see some of the things she does at her age, I mean she doesn’t even have her driver’s license yet, it just surprises you.”
The two guards, along with the rest of returnees who provided valuable minutes off the bench for Trinity a year ago, bonded with the long bus rides they had to take across the state during the PIAA playoffs.
A strong bond was formed between Cappelli and DeRubbo, who were in their first year of playing together.
In the Hillers’ 22 games this season, they have both reached double-digit points in 20 of those games. Cappelli, who recently reached the 1,000-point milestone in a section-clinching win over Ringgold, is averaging 15.2 points and four assists per game. DeRubbo is averaging 17 points per game, along with five rebounds and assists.
“After Sierra left, we knew that we had to make up for the scoring that she did,” Cappelli said. “We took it upon ourselves to lead the team and produce the points that weren’t going to be there anymore. I always referred to Sierra, being that we played together growing up, as my partner in crime.”
Cappelli couldn’t have a better heir apparent to Kotchman.
“It’s basketball 24/7,” DeRubbo said of her household’s dynamic. “That’s all we talk about at home. It’s crazy. My mom, dad and brothers all coach me. I was really nervous at the beginning of the year and starting as a freshman. But over the summer, I really tried to improve my game by working on my shooting and handling of the basketball.”
With DeRubbo taking on more of scoring role as a sophomore, Trinity is averaging 58.5 points per game, fourth best in Class 5A. The Hillers are the only team in their section averaging more than 50 points.
The last 35 times Trinity has scored at least 55 points, Trinity is 33-2.
“We aren’t one dimensional anymore,” Miles said. “Before everybody was keying on Sierra. Obviously, nobody can do that this year. Teams have to think about Riley and Alayna, along with all of our other players. It takes a lot of luck to make a run like we did last year. This group as a whole is a different style of team than we had last year. I don’t know if we can duplicate it, but we are in the ballpark.”
Last season, Trinity became the first girls basketball team from Washington County to advance to a PIAA championship game. The Hillers won’t be satisfied until they make it to Hershey again.
“The goal is the same it’s always been,” Cappelli said. “We want to make it to the WPIAL championship. We want to make it back to the Giant Center.”