A-K Valley basketball notebook: Leechburg girls continue winning ways

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, December 13, 2018 | 10:39 PM

Maybe it seemed unlikely for Leechburg to continue its run of girls basketball success this season.

After all, the Blue Devils graduated the most successful senior class in school history after last season, and that group played more than 90 percent of the varsity minutes last season.

Early indications show Leechburg isn’t done winning. The Blue Devils won two of their first three games, following a 1-1 split at their host tip-off tournament with a nonsection win over Geibel on Monday.

“That’s so important, just from a confidence standpoint,” said first-year coach Andre Carter, who took over the job after Joel Ceraso left to take the same position at Burrell. “Those girls didn’t get any playing time last year, so I didn’t know what to expect as far as experience on the court these first few games.”

Leechburg qualified for the playoffs each of the past three seasons, advancing to the PIAA tournament in 2017 and 2018 — the first two trips in school history — and won three combined games in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs, the first three postseason victories in school history. Those accomplishments came largely through a six-member senior class, highlighted by career 2,000-point scorer Mikayla Lovelace, that graduated in 2018.

Carter said he considered a season-opening loss to Saltsburg a positive because it enabled Leechburg to get a defeat out of the way early.

Although Kat Yurjevich scored 22 points in the 55-36 win over Geibel, the Blue Devils are winning with defense, allowing an average of 31 points in wins over Imani Christian and Geibel. Despite having nine players, Leechburg uses a pressure defense, so Carter ramped up conditioning workouts and implemented multiple defensive schemes. Carter said he uses the successful New Castle boys basketball program for inspiration.

“These girls, they work so hard, and in practice, they’re like sponges,” Carter said. “They’re willing to learn and willing to try it out. I never have any issues with anybody questioning why we’re doing this and why we’re doing that. They just try it out, and they see that it works.”

Matt on the mend

The way things are going, Matt Arvay might want to invest in as many first-aid supplies as he can.

Arvay, a St. Joseph senior, missed the entire 2017-18 season with a knee injury and is playing through bumps and bruises in the Spartans’ early-season schedule.

Despite not playing at 100 percent yet, Arvay tied for the team lead with 17 points in a 78-61 loss to Class A No. 2 Cornell in the championship game of the St. Joseph tournament last week. He also played that game with KT Tape wrapped around a sore shoulder, plus a chest cold — and then he suffered a cut on his face that required attention.

“He works very hard, and he’s not going to let anything keep him from playing if he can play,” St. Joseph coach Kelly Robinson said. “For someone that’s not up to par, to play like that, I hate to think what’s going to happen when he’s 100 percent healthy. He’s a hard-working kid, and he has a very nice shot.”

County lines

Burrell, Kiski Area and Valley attended the Westmoreland County Coaches Association’s boys basketball shootout each of the last two summers, going up against some of the other teams in the county.

While those games had their competitive moments, ultimately the results didn’t count. That will change this weekend, as Hempfield will host the WCCA regular-season shootout.

The three Alle-Kiski Valley teams again will compete, with Kiski Area facing Norwin at 1:45 p.m., Burrell playing Monessen at 1:45 p.m., and Valley taking on Latrobe at 3:30 p.m. All told, seven games will be played.

“We’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to play in the Westmoreland shootout,” Valley coach Mark Faulx said. “It’s really great to be able to get together with teams in your region and see coaches and see all the different kids and styles of play. We’re looking forward to the opportunity for the shootout on Saturday. Hempfield has such a great facility, and Latrobe is such a great team. It should be a really nice environment.”

Before they can play Saturday, however, Burrell (1-3), Kiski Area (1-3) and Valley (0-2) will open section play Friday: Burrell travels to Shady Side Academy, Kiski Area visits Shaler, and Valley hosts Steel Valley.

“We’re definitely excited for the opportunity to play two great teams this week,” said Faulx, whose team hasn’t played since the second game of Indiana’s tipoff tournament Dec. 8. “We’ve been trying to get ready all week, and now it’s time to see if our preparations got us ready to go.”

Runs like a Deer

Deer Lakes won its first three nonsection games, and the Lancers’ ability to go on extended runs played a significant factor in those victories.

A 14-4 run to begin the second quarter turned Deer Lakes’ two-point lead into double digits in the team’s season opener at its tipoff tournament against Riverview, and the Lancers won 48-30.

Then, after Deer Lakes claimed the tournament title the next night, the Lancers used a big third-quarter run — 14-2 this time — to pull away from Burrell for a 54-38 win on Monday.

“We have some things to work on, but these three wins are a good foundation heading into section play,” said coach Dave Petruska, whose team began Section 3-3A play Thursday at South Allegheny.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Kiski School, Leechburg, St. Joseph, Valley