Peters Township handles Fox Chapel in playoff opener
Mackenzie Lehman
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Mackenzie Lehman breaks out of the pack after recovering a loose ball and drives upcourt during the Indians’ game against Fox Chapel in the WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinals Friday night.
Isabella Mills
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Makenna Marisa (20) makes her move against Fox Chapel’s Domenica Delaney during WPIAL Class 6A girls quarterfinal basketball playoff game.
Makenna Marisa dishes off the basketball during WPIAL Class 6A girls' playoff action against Fox Chapel.
Makenna Marisa (20) drives the baseline on Domenica Delaney (10) during WPIAL Class 6A girls' quarterfinals basketball playoff action.
PITTSBURGH – There was some rust.
Peters Township High School girls basketball coach Bert Kendall, the hardest critic of his own team, even admitted the 13-day layoff had an impact.
The Indians didn’t reach 60 points for only the third time this season.
They went 2-for-6 from the free-throw line, missed a few easy shots and had some lapses.
And they still won by 34 points.
Behind the scoring of Isabella Mills and Journey Thompson, along with a full-court press in the second half, top-seeded Peters Township turned a double-digit halftime lead into a 57-23 blowout victory over No. 8 Fox Chapel in a WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal game Friday night at Mt. Lebanon High School.
“We did have some rust, I think,” Kendall said. “I think we looked sluggish. We knew in the second half we had to pick up the pace and our full-court pressure did that. We played most of that third quarter on the offensive end.”
Forcing Fox Chapel (15-8) into 10 third-quarter turnovers, the Indians outscored the Foxes in the second half 30-10, which eventually allowed for full-scale substitutions in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
The win advances Peters Township (23-0) to a semifinal matchup with frequent section foe and fourth-seeded Bethel Park on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. Peters Township defeated the Black Hawks in both regular-season games, a 68-60 overtime win and a 61-46 victory at the end of January.
By Luke Campbell
Staff writer
lcampbell@observer-reporter.com
The second-half onslaught was led by Mills, a senior, and Thompson, a freshman who was playing in her first high school playoff game. Thompson scored half of her 16 points in the third quarter, including a pair of layups that led to an 8-3 run to start the quarter and 9-3 run to end it.
Thompson also grabbed nine rebounds.
“I was pretty nervous before the game,” Thompson said. “Everybody was pretty hyped, so I didn’t want to screw anything up. I went out there and fell back into the mindset that this is just basketball and I’ve been playing my entire life.”
Mills reached her game-high 20 points with a three of her five three-pointers in the final quarter.
“I’ve been practicing with this long week off,” Mills said. “Us working the ball around and not forcing anything and waiting for those open shots helped. My teammates were really getting me open shots.”
Peters Township was extremely efficient from the field despite missing some easy shots. The Indians shot 53 percent (25-for-47) while limiting Fox Chapel to only 8-for-31.
“We haven’t shot that poorly all year,” said Fox Chapel coach Jennifer O’Shea. “We’ve been averaging seven or eight threes per game. Normally, we make foul shots and don’t miss many layups. There were some nerves with not being in the playoffs for the last couple of years.
“We kind of lost our minds (in the second half). Peters Township is the No. 1 team in the state, and I think they are pretty legit.”
The Indians saved their rarely used press defense while building a first-half lead. They led 14-2 at the end of the first quarter and 27-13 at halftime.
“When we looked at the tape, we thought (pressing) was the answer,” Kendall said. “Sometimes game plans work and sometimes they don’t. This one did. I remember we looked sluggish in our first playoff game last year. We shook it off pretty quick. I’m not concerned.”