Latest win means banner season for Peters Twp.
UPPER ST. CLAIR – It’s been a long time coming for the Peters Township girls basketball team, but after a wait of more than a decade, the Indians can finally add a section championship to their résumé.
Peters Township’s Madison Kerr and Cameron Morgan have been a major part of the Indians turning their program around over the past few seasons, so it was only fitting the two seniors came up big Monday night against Upper St. Clair.
Morgan recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Kerr added 11 points, in a 51-38 victory as Peters Township clinched at least a share of the Section 4-AAAA championship for the first time in 16 years.
“We get to put 2016 up on a banner,” said Peters Township head coach Bert Kendall. “It’s kind of ironic because it has been 16 years since we have won one. We will see how the rest of the week goes and if we have to share it, but it is an honor regardless.”
With the Indians on the ropes early in the fourth quarter, PT turned to Morgan, who responded by scoring six consecutive points to start an 8-0 run that put Peters Township up double digits and secured the victory.
“Cameron can do it and today she did,” Kendall said. “It was great. All of our seniors who were on the floor took charge.”
After a pair of three-pointers from Panthers guard Hannah Shephard gave USC an early 8-0 lead, the Indians exploded. PT closed the first quarter on a 10-0 run and outscored Upper St. Clair 22-4 during a seven-minute span as the Indians took a 30-15 lead into halftime.
Morgan’s work on the glass sparked the run as she not only helped limit the Panthers to one shot on almost every possession, but she also kept a few key PT possessions alive with offensive rebounds.
Morgan got to the free-throw line in bunches and scored 12 of her 20 points in the first half.
“I wanted to help set the tone,” Morgan said. “I really wanted to help put 2016 up on a banner this year.”
PT’s first-half run was helped by Kerr, who finished with 11 points, and Emily Konwick, who came off the bench and scored six consecutive points.
“It’s big to have Emily back,” said Kendall. “She helps take some of the load off Cameron inside so she doesn’t have to feel like she has to do it all by herself.”
Everything that the Indians were doing right in the first half came to a screeching halt in the third quarter. USC opened the second half with a 12-1 run behind a pair of three-point shots from Ally Steve to cut the PT lead to 31-27. Steve led the Panthers with 11 points.
The Indians didn’t make a second-half field goal until there was four seconds left in the third quarter, when Makenna Marisa hit a runner in the lane.
“It’s been the same thing all season,” Upper St. Clair head coach Pete Serio said. “These kids don’t quit. We fight to the final whistle. But (Peters Township) is a very good team that can contend for a WPIAL title. Sometimes the better team is supposed to win. We aren’t ashamed by the way we played.”
USC closed to within 35-30 when Steve knocked down another three-pointer to open the fourth quarter, but that’s when Morgan asserted herself again and the game never got that close again.
Peters Township had a big edge when it came to free-throw shooting as the Indians converted down the stretch. The Indians were 17 for 23 from while USC attempted only three free throws.
“We work hard on our free throws,” Kendall said. “We shoot a thousand a month – each person. I told them towards the end of the game that this is why we shoot all those foul shots. They are going to win the game, and they did for us.”
With at least a share of the section title secured, PT will finish the regular season with a non-section game against North Allegheny next Monday.
“As seniors, it was a goal to turn our program around,” Morgan said. “A section championship means the world to us. It’s a huge deal for us. It was our goal coming into the season and we achieved it. I am surrounded by a great team and a great group of girls.”