Westmoreland high school basketball notebook: Latrobe teams get defensive in playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 22, 2018 | 5:27 PM

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Don't tell the Latrobe boys and girls basketball teams they are all finesse and only care about offense and scoring.

They will just get defensive.

Both teams love to run the floor and play an up-tempo style, yes. But the teams set out to show their defensive sides in the WPIAL playoffs.

And both advanced because of it.

The boys made some key defensive stops and showed physical panache in a 73-66 win over Butler in the 6A first round.

The girls gave up their lowest point total of the season in a 44-31 win over Shaler in the 6A first round Tuesday, their first postseason victory since 2006-07.

The boys lead WPIAL 6A in scoring at 72.5 points per game but that stat took a backseat last Saturday at Fox Chapel.

“Some people seem to think we're not a team that plays a lot of defense, or enough defense,” Wildcats boys coach Brad Wetzel said. “Well, if you ask Butler, I bet they would say we do. Our guys took offense to (claims they don't defend). They have a toughness and grit about them.”

Latrobe's girls limited Shaler to two points in the second quarter and four in the fourth. The Wildcats' defensive pressure forced a number of open-court turnovers that led to easy baskets.

“We have really been working on our defense,” senior guard Laura Graytok said. “It's something we know we need to improve on if we're going to (win in the playoffs).

Scorpion still stung

Franklin Regional first-year boys coach Steve Scorpion cherishes the opportunity to lead his team into the WPIAL 5A playoffs Friday night against Moon at North Hills. That's because Scorpion, a Franklin Regional alum, never experienced the playoffs as a player.

The program's third all-time leading scorer still harbors disappointment but can live vicariously through his third-seeded Panthers (18-4) while experiencing the postseason from a different vantage point.

“We never made it,” Scorpion said. “We lost the last section game every year to miss out. It still bothers me.”

Franklin Regional skipped a round with a bye and can get to the semifinals for the first time since 1997 — when Scorpion was in eighth grade — with a win Friday.

The Panthers reached the finals in 1996 and '97, but finished runner-up both times.

Petrof hits 1,000

Ligonier Valley senior Lexie Petrof wasn't sure if she could get to 1,000 career points this season but it had nothing to do with merit. She missed her junior season with an ankle injury, but the setback did not stop her from reaching the milestone.

Petrof scored her 1,000th when she completed a three-point play in the second quarter of Tuesday's 47-46 loss to Tyrone in the first round of the District 6 Class 3A playoffs.

Petrof, who had 11 points and 17 rebounds, finished her career with 1,006 points.

Recent Southmoreland grad Tommy Pisula also scored 1,000 after missing a year with a football-related injury. Jeannette's Olivia Sirnic, who graduated last year, also tallied 1,000 in roughly three years after missing time.

Big ⁵⁄₆ all-stars

The Big ⁵⁄₆ Conference website, which recognizes the accomplishments of athletes in the WPIAL's two largest classifications, released its all-section teams last week.

Latrobe's Reed Fenton was the lone local first-team selection in Section 3-6A.

In boys 5A, the Section 3 first-team picks were Nate Leopold and Hunter Stonecheck of Franklin Regional, and Greensburg Salem's Marvel McGowan.

Steve Scorpion of Franklin Regional and Highlands' Tyler Stoczynski were named co-coaches of the year.

Girls Section 2-6A first-teamers were Laura Graytok of Latrobe, Hempfield's Allison Podkul, Penn-Trafford's Mackenzie Aunkst, and Norwin's Magen Polczynski and Jayla Wehner. Norwin's Brian Brozeski is the coach of the year.

Megan Kallock of Greensburg Salem made the Section 3-5A girls team.

Talk is cheap

Latrobe's boys coaches banned their players from talking to the media and tweeting about basketball-related items. But the ban could be lifted — under one condition: “Well, if they get to Petersen Events Center they can talk to anybody,” coach Brad Wetzel said.

Charity case

Belle Vernon senior guard Keira Boff made 18 of 20 free throws in the Leopards' 54-45 win over Knoch in a WPIAL Class 4A first-round game. The mark broke the school record for free throws made set by Jocelyn Connolly in 2010.

Bench marks

Norwin's girls team parades lineups out like hockey line changes, a staple of coach Brian Brozeski's system. The coach played nine girls in Tuesday's 48-29 first-round win over Pine-Richland, including a player who had only seen a couple of varsity minutes. Freshman Mara Polczynski saw a few minutes in the playoff opener.

“She has worked hard in practice and earned a chance to play,” Brozeski said. “We like to get a lot of players involved. Even girls who don't have a lot of varsity experience can contribute.”

Roundball set

The Roundball Classic all-star games will be April 20-21 at Geneva College. There will be three preliminary games on April 20, one girls game and two boys games.

On April 21, there will be four feature games, two girls and two boys. Players, organizers said, will be announced March 6-7.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Latrobe, Norwin, Penn-Trafford