Playoff win nets PT rematch with Lebo
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Hair-raising experience Gemma Walker (21) from Peters Township battles Aubree Tack (33) of Butler during WPIAL Class 6A girls’ basketball playoff action.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Gemma Walker (21), Journey Thompson (23) and Avana Sayles (33) dive after a loose ball after Aubree Tack (33) of Butler takes a tumble during WPIAL Class 6A girls’ basketball action.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Natalie Wetzel (14) muscles her way to the basket while heavily guarded by two Butler defenders. Journey Thompson (23) trails the play during first-round WPIAL Class 6A girls’ basketball playoff action.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Avana Sayles (33) of Peters Township divides the Butler defense and dishes off a pass for an assist during WPIAL Class 6A girls’ basketball playoff action.
A determined Natalie Wetzel (14) drives down the court and avoids Butler defenders on her way to the hoop during WPIAL Class 6A girls' basketball playoff action.
McMURRAY – Clearly the Peters Township girls team wanted a third crack at section rival Mt. Lebanon.
Using an active zone defense, and a smoothly run offense that led to a cornucopia of open shots in the first half, No. 8 seed Peters Township (13-10) disposed of No. 9 seed Butler 57-42 Friday evening in the opening round of the Class 6A WPIAL girls basketball playoffs at AHN Arena.
University of Delaware recruit Journey Thompson led all scorers with 18 points for the Indians. Avana Sayles chipped in with 14 points while Gemma Walker contributed 13 and Natalie Wetzel had 10.
Butler (13-10) was led by Justine Forbes and Makenna Maier, both scoring 17.
Peters Township (13-10) fell to the Blue Devils twice this season. They will get a third chance at their nemesis Wednesday night at Mt. Lebanon.
The Indians started fast and left the Tornadoes behind as they shot a blistering 11-of-14 to take a 25-11 lead at the end of the quarter. Natalie Wetzel and Walker kickstarted the run with consecutive old-fashioned three-point plays.
“Our start was very important,” Peters Township coach Bob Miles said. “We wanted to get out and get running and get the ball inside and that’s what we did.”
Peters Township parlayed an early 12-0 run in the first quarter to crack the game open.
The second quarter saw Butler’s long-range shooting go cold as it finished the second quarter making only four of 15 shots from the field, many of which were long three-point attempts as the Tornadoes found cracking the paint area tough with Thompson and Wetzel patrolling the lane.
Thompson added six points in the quarter as the host Indians extended their advantage to 39-20 at the half.
But the Tornadoes came out strong in the third quarter with a 16-3 run to slice the Indians’ lead to 42-36. Two long Maier three-pointers keyed the push. But Thompson helped stem the tide with two buckets to extend the lead to 10 and give control back to the Indians
“We got the ball inside,” Miles said in reference to the Indians assuming control of the contest. “Journey and Natalie finished inside for us.”
The fourth quarter saw Butler try to scrap back in the ballgame by crashing the offensive glass with authority, but it was held to only six points as the Indians eventually cruised home to a 15-point win.
Peters Township withstood the Butler push to get back in the game mostly because of the Tornadoes only having two viable scoring threats. Though Maier scored 17 points, she finished six-of-22 from the field on shots that were mainly well behind the three-point arc.
“Sometimes when you get a big lead, it’s hard to maintain that focus,” Miles noted. “Credit to them (Butler), they were physical and really got after the boards there in the fourth quarter and never quit.”
The win gives the Indians another shot at their section foe and they are more than determined to make amends for their two earlier losses to the powerful Blue Devils.
“We know them, they know us, we’re looking forward to it,” Miles said.