College notebook: Another milestone for Marisa
By her lofty standards, Makenna Marisa’s performance Sunday for Penn State against Wisconsin was nothing out of the ordinary but it did put the McMurray native in an elite group in Nittany Lions women’s basketball history.
Marisa’s statistics line in Penn State’s 74-69 win was 15 points, eight assists, seven fouls drawn, five steals and three rebounds. It also enabled Marisa, a Peters Township graduate, to become only the second player in Penn State history to record 1,600 career points, 450 rebounds, 350 assists and 150 three-point field goals.
For the season, Marisa, a senior point guard, is the Nittany Lions’ leading scorer at 17.9 points per game and leader in assists (85). She is shooting 41 percent from the field, 38 percent from three-point range and 76 percent from the free-throw line. She has a pair of games in which she topped 30 points, including a season-high 34 against Minnesota.
In soccer
Catholic University center back Owen Maher, a Canonsburg native and Canon-McMillan graduate, was named first team All-Landmark Conference and was a second-team selection on the United Soccer Coaches All-Region V team.
Maher started 20 games and was a pivotal player in a defense that allowed only 15 goals in the regular season and recorded 11 shutouts on the year. He helped the Cardinals to a 13-4-4 record and advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III tournament.
Maher finished the season with two goals and one assist.
In basketball
The Penn State Altoona women’s basketball team has a local feel as three players – two from Peters Township and one from South Fayette – are playing key roles for the Lions.
Freshman Avana Sayles, a Peters Township graduate, is Penn State Altoona’s leading scorer at 14.1 points per game. She also is the leading rebounder at 8.9 per contest. Sayles scored a season-high 24 points Saturday in a 103-52 win over Penn State Behrend. She also had 13 rebounds and two steals in the game.
Freshman guard Jess Burns, a South Fayette graduate, is Penn State Altoona’s second-leading scorer at 12.9 points per game. She is shooting 45 percent from the field, 42 percent from three-point range and 74 percent from the free-throw line. Burns is averaging 17.5 points over the last six games, which includes a season-high 27 in a win over Hilbert.
Sophomore guard Jordan Bisignani, like Sayles, is a Peters Township graduate and has started all 16 games for Penn State Altoona. Bisignani is averaging 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. She scored a season-high 17 points in a win over Keuka.
Sayles, Burns and Bisignani have helped Penn State Altoona to a 5-1 record in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and an 8-8 overall mark.
The Slippery Rock women’s team has a sister act working in its backcourt. Sisters Kaylin and Emily Venick of Rices Landing are Trinity graduates and in their second seasons for The Rock, who is battling for a spot in next month’s PSAC tournament.
Both Venicks are defense-first players and big reasons why The Rock is allowing only 66.6 points per game.
Kaylin Venick has played in 17 games, starting 12, and is averaging 3.1 points to go with 16 steals. She is shooting 82 percent from the free-throw line. In The Rock’s 61-57 win Monday over Lock Haven, Kaylin scored 10 points and had four assists, including two in the fourth quarter.
Emily Venick has played in 18 games, making 13 starts. She has 14 steals.
The top two scorers on the Westmoreland County Community College women’s team are local players.
Mercedes Majors of Monessen is the Wolfpack’s top scorer, averaging 17.0 points per game, and Makayla Boda of California is close behind at 15.9 per contest.
Majors has scored in double figures in six straight games and has a high points total of 29 against the Point Park JV team. She is shooting 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range.
Boda, who is shooting 47 percent from the field, has a 27-point game against CCAC.
In wrestling
Colby Morris is having a spectacular season at Waynesburg.
Morris, a Waynesburg Central graduate, is undefeated at 17-0 while wrestling at 174 pounds for the Yellow Jackets. What makes Morris’ season so remarkable is the junior sat out the 2021-22 season to fulfill his training obligations for the United States National Guard.
Morris has two tournament titles to his credit this season. Last month, he won the New Standard Invitational at York College. He won four bouts, each by decision, en route to the title. This month, he finished first in the Waynesburg Invitational, winning two of his four bouts by fall.