Peters Twp. handles Bethel Park, takes section lead
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township players Olivia Ziegler, Isabella Mills, Makenna Marisa and Jordan Bisignani (2) celebrate their victory over Bethel Park Monday night.
Makenna Marisa drives to the basket for two of her 23 points as she led Peters Township to victory against Bethel Park, 58-44.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peter’s Townships Jordan Bisignani, right, keeps the ball away from Bethel Park’s Maria Cerro. The two section foes play tonight in a PIAA Class 6A second-round game at Canon-McMillan High School. It is the second straight season they will play four times.
Peters Township's Isabella Mills dribbles up court Monday night while being defended by Bethel Park defender Olivia Westphall.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Lillian Young drives to the basket Monday night against Bethel Park.
Peters Township's Makenna Marisa is defended by Bethel Park's Kam Lach during the first half Monday night.
McMURRAY – “Patience, young grasshopper.”
Those are the words Bethel Park High School girls basketball coach Jonna Burke could have uttered to her former assistant when she was shaking hands with Bert Kendall.
Kendall, now the head coach at Peters Township after nine years as an assistant at Bethel Park on Burke’s staff, needed patience to improve the Indians from eight wins in the section over his first two years after taking the job in 2013.
After five-straight losses to his previous elder to begin his career, Kendall’s patience has paid off.
“She is a great coach and we have a great friendship,” Kendall said of Burke.
“She maybe knows what I’m doing, but I’ve sat next to her for nine years, so I maybe know a little bit, too.”
The student has had the teacher’s number the last five times, including Monday night, as the Indians made five first-half three-pointers and dominated the rebounding battle to defeat Bethel Park, 58-44, in a matchup atop Class 6A Section 3.
The win – Peters Township (5-1, 12-2) has won five of its last six games – gives the Indians the section lead over Bethel Park. Both teams entered the game with a 4-1 record in section play.
The Indians also did it in the most aggressive way possible, dominating the rebounding advantage 43-24 to extend possessions and limit second-chance points for the Black Hawks.
“We had a goal to outrebound (Bethel Park) by 10,” Kendall said. “I’ll be honest, 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 tonight.”
Peters Township’s Makenna Marisa and Isabella Mills each finished with double-digit rebounding to lead the effort on the glass.
“That’s something very hard to overcome,” Burke said. “Rebounding has been a point of emphasis for us all season. It’s been a battle for us because we don’t have a lot of size. We know that we have to rely on good positioning. We didn’t do that tonight. We were sometimes there but it just wasn’t an aggressive effort on our part at all.”
Unlike the drag-out game the two played just more than a month ago, when Peters Township won a 38-37 nail-biter in each team’s lowest-scoring game of the season, the offensive game plan was simple for the Indians this time.
“We’re letting it fly,” Kendall told his team. “Some nights they fall, some nights they don’t. Tonight, they did for us.”
Mills connected on two rainbow three-pointers as the first-quarter clock wound under two minutes to give the Indians a 14-6 lead. She began a 9-2 run with 4:58 remaining in the second quarter with another deep three to give Peters Township a 28-12 lead.
“She can shoot, but what’s good about her is not only can she shoot, she is our leading rebounder,” Kendall said about Mills, who finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
“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.”
Bethel Park (4-2, 10-4) didn’t go away as point guard Maria Cerro weaved through the Indians’ defense for a layup and made a three-pointer with 6:14 remaining to cut the Indians’ lead to 10 points, 47-37.
But for each comeback attempt by Bethel Park, which enthused the large visiting crowd that made the short trip, Peters Township had an answer.
Marisa scored eight of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. Olivia Ziegler also scored five of her 10 points in the final eight minutes as Bethel Park was unable to trim PT’s lead to single digits.
“It’s hard because you want to try and trap and press but (Marisa) can just dribble through it and find people,” Burke said. “She is so good. But we didn’t get out to shooters. We got stuck behind some screens and there was some miscommunication that gave them too many open looks. Conversely, we missed. We were 16-for-60 (from the field). That’s awful. You aren’t going to beat anybody on a night like that.”
Cerro led Bethel Park with 14 points and eight rebounds. Olivia Westphal also had 13 points for the Black Hawks.
And now for Kendall, who hasn’t lost since 2015 to the team he was helping coach to two WPIAL title appearances, it’s all about the future.
“Five in a row is good, but the only one that matters is the next one.”