Dec 14, 2025 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

Peters Township girls basketball coach Steve Limberiou knew there was going to be an adjustment period coming into this season.

Losing an uber-talent like Natalie Wetzel as well as Daniela Radulovich, another key contributor with size, will do that.

Wetzel is getting solid minutes as a freshman at Miami (Fla.) while the Indians are embarking on defending their WPIAL Class 5A title.

Plenty of talented girls remain that made big plays last year like senior guards Bri Morreale and Alina Sopko and sophomores Taylor McCullough and Jordyn Welsh.

Now the challenge is forging the type of team they want to be without Wetzel, last year’s Observer-Reporter girls basketball player of the year.

“Obviously the identity is different when you take away two 6-foot-3 girls,” Limberiou said. “It’s not just on the court either. It’s leadership and their presence. All that stuff makes a difference.”

Peters Township got a major lesson Friday night in a 65-51 loss to Thomas Jefferson in the Class 5A Section 4 opener.

The Indians beat the Jaguars four times last year, including in the WPIAL semifinals and PIAA second round, but fell behind early and couldn’t recover Friday.

Thomas Jefferson opened the game on a 13-1 run and didn’t look back.

“I thought they did a good job taking away the stuff we wanted to do,” Limberiou said. “In general, we were too stagnant on offense. It was a lot of watching and hoping that plays will be made. We’ve got to get a little bit better offensively, but (Thomas Jefferson) is good. They are probably the most talented team we’ll see on our schedule. There’s a lot to take away from the game and we certainly will.”

Prior to Friday’s game against Thomas Jefferson, Peters Township (0-1, 4-2) had won three games against Upper St. Clair, Pine-Richland and North Allegheny, all Class 6A opponents.

The Indians nearly beat a fourth Class 6A team, but saw Canon-McMillan rally from an early deficit to win 48-44.

Peters Township led the Big Macs 22-8 early in the second quarter, but were outscored 40-22 the rest of the way.

It was another good lesson for a young team. Sopko and Morreale are the only two seniors on the roster.

“We have to respond better to adversity, but we’re still growing,” Limberiou said. “This team has maybe a longer maturation process than last year’s team in terms of those things, but we’re good. It’s only mid-December, so we have a long way to go. I think (Friday) opened some eyes on the things we need to work on.”

A bright spot in the Thomas Jefferson game was the strong second half by McCullough. She scored 17 of her team-best 20 points over the final two quarters.

McCullough recently recovered from a knee injury she sustained during soccer season. Welsh had a dozen points after surviving an early injury scare when she was guarding Thomas Jefferson’s Maggie Spell in the first quarter. Welsh went down favoring her ankle, but was able to return later in the first.

With Wetzel and Radulovich gone, the Indians are much more guard-oriented. Sophomore Caitlyn Malloy has entered the starting lineup, while juniors Maddy Rost, Maddyn Mehl and Mara Radulovich are seeing increased roles off the bench.

Freshman Jayla Kendall also got some minutes on Friday.

It may take a little longer to come together, but Limberiou is confident that come playoff time, the Indians will be ready to defend their WPIAL title.

“We have to adjust,” Limberiou said. “We have to be a team that’s more ball-pressure oriented. We’ve got to win in different ways and we’ve done a pretty good job of that this season, but (Friday) we played into the game (Thomas Jefferson) wanted to play.”