Thomas Jefferson girls cap season in PIAA tournament

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, March 24, 2018 | 10:10 AM

Their achievements command attention.

Thomas Jefferson's girls basketball team captured the Section 2-5A championship, advanced to the WPIAL quarterfinals and PIAA second round, and finished with a 21-5 overall record.

After a season-opening setback, the Jaguars won 10 games in a row, then marched into the playoffs by winning nine of their last 10 regular-season contests.

The fifth-seeded TJ girls defeated Montour, 84-45, and lost to Gateway, 57-54, in the WPIAL tournament. The Jaguars beat Slippery Rock, 66-57, and fell to Mars, 61-53, in the PIAA tourney.

“When you make the playoffs, every game is a challenge and you have to bring your ‘A' game,” TJ coach George Vlassich said. “Every team we played was a high finisher in their section or district. We played well against Gateway but had no answer for their big kid. But not many teams had success against them.”

TJ guards Jenna Clark and Marina Petruzzi led the team in scoring this season and in the two PIAA contests. Clark, a 5-foot-7 junior, netted 22 points against Slippery Rock and 21 versus Mars. Petruzzi, a 5-7 senior and Wesleyan recruit, connected for 16 and 19.

Junior guard/forward Emma McDermott led Slippery Rock with 17 points; junior guard Tai Johnson peppered in 35 to spark Mars.

“Our first-round game against Slippery Rock was a tough, physical game,” Vlassich said, “and from the second quarter on we played a smothering defense that produced 19 turnovers, and we had big contributions on offense with four kids in double digits.

“Against Mars, we were tired and physically worn, but played three hard quarters then ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.”

Clark, who has talked with college recruiters from the Patriot League, Ivy League and Atlantic 10, ended the season with a team-leading 17.7 ppg scoring average. She also averaged 6.2 assists and 3.3 steals, and shot 73 percent from the foul line.

Next in line offensively for the Jaguars was Petruzzi, who averaged 15.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 2.1 assists. Petruzzi was a four-year varsity starter and 1,000-point career scorer.

Alyssa DeAngelo also finished with a double-digit scoring average at 10.5 ppg. The 5-9 sophomore guard/forward pulled down 4.1 rebounds per game, and shot 71 percent from the charity stripe.

Rounding out the starting lineup were 5-9 senior guard/forward Becca Mascaro and 5-6 junior guard Shaylor Williams, who chipped in with 11.3 ppg between them. Mascaro grabbed 6.5 rebounds per game.

The Jaguars' leading reserves were senior guard/forward Maura Siess, senior guard Casey Gedman and junior guard Julia Shearn, who converted 78 percent of her free throws this season.

“Next year's team will have to replace four seniors, two of which were starters,” Vlassich said. “However, we will return three starters and a letter winner. Our sophomore class is talented, and we should get some help with these kids.”

TJ's sophomore hoopsters consist of DeAngelo, guards Ashley Guidone, Molly Wagner and Lydia Shaw, forward Natasha Yanief, and guard/forwards Allison Weidman and Cathryn Coles.

“We've been placed in a new section (in 2018-19) with Trinity, Chartiers Valley, West Allegheny and South Fayette,” Vlassich said. “This will be an extremely tough section, but our kids love the challenge.”

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

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