Wetzel scores 30 as PT powers into semifinals
By Dave Whipkey
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
McMURRAY – It was not the start the Peters Township girls basketball squad was looking for, but the finish was more than good enough.
The Indians missed their first four shots from the field and turned it over twice as underdog Pine-Richland got out to an early 8-2 lead Thursday night in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs at AHN Arena at Peters Township High School.
But this Indians group seemingly liked getting hit first so they could respond in kind, which is exactly what Peters Township (22-1) did as it dispatched the Rams 58-46 in a businesslike manner, punching their ticket to a semifinal date against perennial power North Allegheny Monday night at a site and time to be determined.
Natalie Wetzel poured in 30 points for the Indians while St. Francis (Pa.) commit Gemma Walker added 13.
IUP commit Madison Zavasky of Pine-Richland led all scorers with 32 points and did what she could to keep the Rams within striking distance much of the evening.
“She’s hard to guard,” Indians coach Steve Limberiou noted regarding Zavasky. “For a lot of it, I wouldn’t say it was bad defense. There was definitely some impressive shot making going on. I thought we did a better job, for the most part, in the second half forcing her to take harder shots. There’s a reason why she is leading 6A in scoring.”
Zavasky scored nine first-quarter points to help stake the Rams to an early lead, but Wetzel helped get the Indians get rolling when she knocked in four three-pointers in the opening quarter to turn an early 8-2 deficit into a 21-13 lead at the end of the quarter.
Zavasky repeated her dominance on offense in the second quarter when she scored nine points. Two three-pointers and a free throw pulled the Rams to within 30-26 in the later moments of the half. But a Wetzel basket at the buzzer helped extend the Indians’ lead to 32-26.
Wetzel finished with 19 of her 30 points in the opening half.
“They played a 1-3-1 (zone defense) the first time they played us and they came out with the same thing tonight,” Limberiou said. “I thought we were prepared for it. Our ball movement was good and Natalie was the recipient of the passes in open space. But in general we did a good job moving the ball.”
Peters Township won the regular-season matchup between the schools via a 55-46 count on Dec. 2.
The Indians extended their lead to 37-29 thanks to an old-fashioned three-point play with 5:25 left in the third. Pine-Richland lurched to within 39-34 via a Cate Gentile basket, but Wetzel subsequently knocked home a three-pointer to stretch the advantage to 42-34 with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter.
Peters Township carried a 46-38 lead into the fourth as Zavasky added 10 points in the third while Wetzel held firm in her duel with seven points of her own.
The Indians closed out the scrappy Rams thanks to two clutch buckets from Walker, one of which was an old-fashioned three-point play that helped push the advantage to 55-44 with less than three minutes remaining. Pine-Richland never threatened again.
“Everyone in 6A is pretty good, so we were not surprised that they would put up such a good fight,” Limberiou said.
The Peters Township coach added that the Rams’ zone defense helped keep Walker in check in the first half, but she was able to find some cracks and make her mark in the second.
“I thought she did a good job in the second half keeping her composure and getting into those gaps,” Limberiou noted.
Peters Township dominated the glass for much of the evening as they outrebounded the Rams 28-22.
“I thought overall we did a good job limiting them to one shot on the defensive end,” he added.
Limberiou credited Daniela Radulovich for her work on the glass, which helped lead the Indians to live another day in the postseason.