Peters Township weathers Bethel Park, 61-46, to stay undefeated
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Makenna Marisa, front, drives past Bethel Park’s Olivia Westphal in a section game earlier this season.
Peters Township's Avana Sayles, back, battles on the floor for the ball with Bethel Park's Julianna Carbone during Monday's Class 6A Section 2 at Peters Township High School.
Peters Township's Jordan Bisignani drives to the basket against Bethel Park's Madelyn Dziezgowski during Monday night's game.
Bookend 12-point quarters by Makenna Marisa coupled with a strong defensive performance from Jordan Bisignani propelled undefeated Peters Township to victory, 61-46, against Bethel Park in Class 6A Section 2 girls basketball action Monday night.
Marisa finished with a game-high 26 points despite sitting out a portion of the second quarter with foul trouble.
Noting she only had two fouls, Peter Township coach Bert Kendall admitted Marisa “would have been in the game and not on the bench” if the Indians had needed her in the second quarter. But, they widened their first-quarter advantage of 18-4 to 21-6 after a 3-pointer by Bisignani at the 4:16 mark of the second quarter.
“We thought we would be alright,” said Kendall, “but you never know.”
Though Bethel Park pulled as close as 40-37 with 6:42 to play, Marisa reasserted herself, as did fellow senior Isabella Mills. They spearheaded a 13-3 run that opened up a 54-40 cushion for the Indians with 3:21 to play.
”At the end of the end of the game you always look to your seniors.” Kendall said. “Isabelle and Makenna both stepped up and were strong. And, we found some people underneath at the end which really helped because they were putting a lot of pressure on the perimeter.”
Down inside, freshman Journey Thompson finished with 12 points while Mackenzie Lehman provided six.
Bisignani supplied five points but her defense on Maria Cerro in the first half and Marisa’s on Olivia Westphal were pivotal to PT’s success.
In the initial encounter between the teams on Jan. 3, a 68-60 overtime win for the Indians, Westphal exploded for 34 points. The sophomore was held to 13 while Cerro led the way with 20 points.
”We had to change our defense on Westphal,” explained Kendall. “She really lit us up the first game. We had to keep an eye on her and know where she was at all times and we did a job of that.
”Marisa did well on her and Jordan has come a long way. As a freshman, she would struggle with a player like (Cerro) but we can give her a fast point guard and she’ll deal with it. She did a great job of that.”
By nixing the full-court pressure, Peters Township vaulted into the lead early. Marisa’s 12 points, six from well beyond the arc, catapulted the Indians to leads of 9-2 and 13-2 before settling into the 14-point advantage by the end of the first frame.
”Our half-court defense was the difference,” Kendall said. “This was the first game this year that we did not press in the first quarter. We usually try to get it going that way but we felt like we wanted to concentrate on our half-court defense and that seemed to work just fine and we were able to build the lead, by rebounding and making the possessions count on our end.”
Though the Hawks’ waged a comeback, slicing the margin to 21-14, with 4:16 left in the half, on Westphal’s touch — five key points — the Indians led at intermission, 31-18, thanks to Thompson’s six points and assists from Bisignani.
Cerro made things interesting in the third quarter, opening with five straight points. She provided 10 points in the quarter. However, the Indians weathered the storm and maintained a seven-point edge, 40-33, going into the final frame.
In the end, the key was that the Indians never relinquished their advantage. They outscored the Hawks, 21-13, in the last quarter.
”Every basket counts,” Kendall said. “Coming into this game, we thought every possession is going to matter and it did. We had a couple of mental breakdowns there but by and large for a high school team they hung in there and never let it back. Overly it was close but we did not fall behind.”
With the win, Peters Township improved to 17-0 overall while the Hawks dropped to 15-2 and two games behind the Indians in the section standings.
Kendall does not expect this is the last time the two teams will meet as last year they both battled in the playoffs.
”They are a rival and we expect to see them again. We’ll play them anytime. We enjoy playing them,” he said.