McGuffey steps up, handles Trinity
Trinity’s Adison Mamula, left, and Sierra Kotchman, right, fight for the ball with McGuffey’s Carae Wagner during the second half Monday at Trinity High School
McGuffey’s Sammie Weiss scored a game-high 21 points.
McGuffey’s girls basketball players heard the chatter the past two seasons. Despite back-to-back 20-win seasons with two WPIAL Class AA quarterfinal and PIAA first-round appearances, the Highlanders were told they were a byproduct of an easy section schedule.
When WPIAL realignment placed McGuffey in Class AAA this season, the talk became louder. Some people did not believe the Highlanders could compete against top Class AAA competition.
Monday night’s performance at Trinity should quiet the cynics.
Four of McGuffey’s five starters scored double-digit points as the Highlanders defeated Trinity, 72-54, in a Section 5-AAA game.
“We’ve been saying we belong for the past two seasons in Double-A,” McGuffey junior guard Katie Demi said. “No one really gave us respect, even down there. When we came up to Triple-A, we wanted to prove ourselves.”
The victory lifted McGuffey (4-2, 10-3) into a tie for second place with the Hillers (4-2, 9-2).
The Highlanders’ reputation of relying on one scorer became a moot point in arguably their biggest game of the season. Senior Sammie Weiss scored a game-high 21 points, but Demi added 19, senior guard Rachel Czulewicz scored 14 and junior forward Carae Wagner finished with 12.
The night began with a simple, yet effective strategy: contain Trinity’s Mary Dunn and Sierra Kotchman. It took a bit of creativity to accomplish both.
Wagner, who was guarded by Dunn, began the game with back-to-back three-pointers, spreading Trinity’s man-to-man defense out and opening the lane for the Highlanders’ guards.
The teams traded baskets until an 8-0 run, sparked by Demi and another three-pointer by Wagner, gave McGuffey the early lead. Demi and Czulewicz began the second quarter with two three-pointers to take a 24-22 lead.
When the Hillers tried forcing the ball inside to Dunn, a simple zone defense caused errant passes and five second-quarter turnovers. McGuffey capitalized in transition, continuing to spread out the Hillers with perimeter shooting and slashing guard play.
Demi’s layup with 3:19 remaining gave McGuffey a 36-24 lead, and four points by Czulewicz gave the Highlanders a 40-27 advantage at halftime.
Trinity head coach Bob Miles was not surprised to see McGuffey make seven three-pointers in the first half.
“They knocked down the threes early in the game and it wasn’t something we hadn’t prepared for,” Trinity head coach Bob Miles said. “We talked about how all five of their players can shoot. The second quarter was really crucial. They got the lead and took it into double digits. We never really regrouped from there.”
Though Weiss was quiet in the first half, her play spoke volumes in the third quarter as she slashed to the rim to draw fouls. She scored 12 points in the quarter to help McGuffey forge a 20-point lead.
The Highlanders and Hillers traded baskets to begin the final quarter before Trinity switched to a press defense, forcing McGuffey’s guards to find an open teammate. The Highlanders turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions and Trinity responded with eight unanswered points to draw within 10 points with 3:19 remaining.
The experience of McGuffey’s lineup showed in the final minutes by slowing the pace with passes through the press and forced the Hillers to foul.
The Highlanders capitalized by making 10 of 12 free throws in the final three minutes to close out the win.
“We have three good ball-handlers so they have to pick and choose,” McGuffey head coach Amanda Burchett said. “If it gets in Rachel’s hands, she can bring it up. If it gets in Sammie’s hands, she can bring it up and the same with Katie, so it’s really hard to defend that. The press is a really hard situation when you have three players like that.”
Kotchman led Trinity with 15 points and Dunn added 11 points with 13 rebounds. McGuffey’s guards altered Kotchman’s shots with a hand to her face and Wagner shined for the Highlanders by grabbing 11 rebounds.
“I think we did an excellent job with (Dunn and Kotchman). They are still going to get their points because they’re great basketball players, but I think we limited their touches and they had to earn everything,” Burchett said. “We made them work the whole game.”
The Highlanders, who used only five players, snapped the Hillers’ nine-game winning streak and disrupted the balance of power in 5-AAA.
“They are a good shooting team. You can’t take anything away from McGuffey’s performance,” Miles said. “They came into our gym and won.”