Cheswick Christian girls basketball team looks to build off last season’s division title

By: Ted Sarneso
Wednesday, November 13, 2024 | 8:04 PM

The Cheswick Christian Academy girls basketball team knows what it’s about, and that’s functioning as a five-person unit instead of relying on a few stars to get victories.

With a small roster, like this season’s that is dominated by sophomores, freshman and grade-schoolers, embracing that team mentality can go a long way.

“You can’t care what other people think about you,” coach Clinton Blazevich said. “It doesn’t matter when the odds are stacked against you or what people’s opinions are. One of the lessons the girls took away from last season was sticking together and playing as a team.

“We didn’t really have any superstars, so we recognized it was going to take a team effort.”

The Chargers finished the season 9-10 overall, but they played a tough nonconference schedule that had a singular purpose behind it.

“Last year, we played some WPIAL teams, played some teams that outranked and outmatched us,” Blazevich said. “But that was by design so we could be prepared to face teams in our division, who on paper were probably our equal but weren’t playing tough teams like we were early on.”

The plan worked as Cheswick finished 7-1 in the Greater Pittsburgh Division and were the top seed heading into the Southwest Christian Conference playoffs. The Chargers reached the semifinals before losing.

The postseason run gave the Chargers experience and confidence heading into this year.

“I think the result was satisfactory to them,” Blazevich said. “It was a situation where they were out to prove some people wrong. They were justified in how they felt, knew they were better than what they put on paper the season before.”

The Chargers know they have the ability to go undefeated in their division, so that is their first goal, which would lead them into their second, which is to claim another division title.

“We’re still poised to take our division,” Blazevich said. “I don’t know if we’ll be in the top two in the league, but I think we have a good chance. We lost three players from last year who played significant roles, so now we’re trying to fill those gaps and we’re looking for the girls to do so.”

Blazevich will count on his three seniors, Melissa Bodack, Abigail Louis and Lauren Weng, to continue their stable play and take on the responsibilities of being leaders.

“Abby was a first-team all-star last year, was in the top three in scoring last year and she’s our best rebounder,” Blazevich said. “Lauren really came on towards the end of last year. She was instrumental in winning the division, and Melissa was not a full-time starter last year but she will be this year. She’ll probably be the rock of the team; she’ll keep the other girls focused.”

Joining the trio will be sophomore guard Grace Kostick, who started as a freshman and averaged 7.3 points.

“Grace was my second-highest scorer last year,” Blazevich said. “She can shoot from the outside and plays good defense. She’s probably my most sound player all around.”

As for the fifth starter, Blazevich said the spot is still open.

“I would really like to draw that fifth player from my ninth and 10th grade classes,” Blazevich said. “But they’re all very green. If they’ve played basketball, it hasn’t been a lot. I would say sophomore forward Eve Davenport has made us turn our heads a little bit.”

As for filling out the rest of his roster, which consists of three seniors, four sophomores and a freshman, Blazevich is relying on a quartet of seventh graders.

In the academy school conferences, having players from seventh and eighth grade play up on the high school team is allowed. There’s just one trade-off that Blazevich knows will hurt his team’s development.

“The problem with a small Christian school is you have to have the personnel from ninth grade through 12th grade in order to play WPIAL teams, because we’re not allowed to play our seventh and eighth graders,” he said.

Which means that if the Chargers want to better themselves by playing the tougher competition in the WPIAL, they be playing with eight total players.

“As it sits right now, our schedule is still up in the air,” Blazevich said.

Still, there’s hope that it will all work itself out and Cheswick Christian will still be able to top their division.

“Our side is going to be pretty similar to last year,” said Blazevich. “Our side was very even last year, and it’ll be more of the same this year. Portersville and Plants and Pillars will probably be the No. 1 and 2 teams, doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten. You always have your focus and sights set on them.”

Cheswick Christian Academy girls at a glance

Coach: Clinton Blazevich

Last year’s record: 9-10 (7-1 Greater Pittsburgh Division of the SWCAC)

Returning starters: Abigail Louis (Sr. F); Lauren Weng (Sr. G)

Top newcomers: Melissa Bodack (Sr. F); Eve Davenport (So. F); Grace Kostick (So. G)

Tags: Cheswick Christian