Due east: Peters Twp. has eyes on history, defending champion
Bert Kendall gets emotional during Peters Township's 64-47 victory against Norwin.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Jordan Bisignani, right, celebrates on the bench during the WPIAL Class 6A Championship game.
Observer-Reporter
Makenna Marisa weaves her way around Emily Brozeski during PIAA Class 6A girls’ basketball action against Norwin.
Chewed up and spit out.
That’s exactly what the Peters Township High School girls basketball team has done to teams from the WPIAL this season.
Now, as the only team left from the west side of the state in the PIAA Class 6A girls’ bracket, the Indians turn their attention east toward District 1.
Playing in its first state semifinal since 1994, Peters Township will play Upper Dublin in a game at Bald Eagle High School looking to do much of the same: start fast and never look back.
Tip is 6 p.m.
Quick starts have propelled the Indians to their 28-0 record. In those 28 games, they have trailed after the first quarter only one time. It was only by one point, 15-14, in their first meeting with Bethel Park in early January.
“We are comfortable playing with the lead and want to make sure we get it,” said Peters Township coach Bert Kendall. “Early on, we emphasize ball pressure and rebounding. We want to do what we’ve done all year.”
The Indians have barely gotten to taste what they would eventually spit out in blowout performances. They have done so against quality competition, too. Of their 28 wins, 18 were against teams that qualified for the WPIAL playoffs – South Park, Thomas Jefferson, Trinity, Franklin Regional, Mars, Seneca Valley, North Catholic, Fox Chapel, North Allegheny, Norwin, Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair twice and Bethel Park four times. The average margin of victory in those games was more than 24 points.
Awaiting the Indians for the remainder of their schedule – Kendall hopes that will be two more games and result in a state championship – are teams from District 1, located in the southeast corner of the commonwealth.
Upper Dublin (25-5), the defending Class 6A champion, is trying to stop Peters Township from advancing to its first PIAA title appearance. The Cardinals have used their stifling defense to hold all three of its state-playoff opponents – Central Dauphin, North Allegheny and Abington – to fewer than 40 points. They have only surrendered more than 40 points five times this season.
“They are a defensive-minded team that can alter shots,” Kendall said. “They are very balanced, can move the ball and hit the three. They are patient moving without the ball and do a lot of inside-out stuff.”
That makes turnovers, a problem especially in the second half for Peters Township in its 64-47 quarterfinal win over Norwin, more important to limit. The Indians turned the ball over 11 times in the third quarter as Norwin turned cut an 18-point halftime deficit into single digits multiple times.
“I think in the game Friday night, Norwin came out in the second half playing like its season was on the line. Giving it their all. They caught us on our heels,” Kendall said. “We might have been too comfortable at halftime. I think during the regular season, what happens a lot of the time is teams would be deflated and we would just pick up where we left off in the first half. It was a lesson learned and we’ve talked about it.”
Peters Township has started quickly through its six district and state playoff games. The Indians led after the first quarter by at least two possessions in five of the six games, including a pair of double-digit advantages.
The winner will advance to play either Garnet Valley or Neshaminy, a pair of District 1 teams in the other semifinal Monday night. The championship is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at the Giant Center in Hershey.
“We haven’t talked about Hershey. We just don’t talk about it,” Kendall said. “It is all about Upper Dublin, who they have and what we have to do.”