Fox Chapel girls smoothing out rough edges as section schedule opens

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, December 13, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Previous Next

Marty Matvey had already done the math in the fall league. The Fox Chapel girls basketball team was averaging around 32 points per game. In order to return to the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, Matvey knew the Foxes would have to do better than that.

So far, Fox Chapel is still working out the kinks. The Foxes were 1-3 entering the start of section play and averaging 40.1 points per game.

In losses to Freeport and Hempfield, the Foxes were held to 30 points in each contest.

“We knew coming into the season we were replacing about 30 points of scoring from the two seniors, so there was going to be a learning curve offensively,” Matvey said. “Defensively, we’ve been solid, but offensively the biggest spark will be getting Emily McKee fully acclimated.”

McKee, who recently won the Moe Rosensteel Award as the player of the year in WPIAL girls soccer, came out to play for the Foxes despite having a demanding club soccer schedule as well. Matvey said he is supportive of all multisport athletes. Even though McKee has other sports on her mind, she has been a key piece for Fox Chapel on the court to support leading scorer Lyla Jablon.

“In the two games she’s played, she’s already been our second-leading scorer,” Matvey said. “As she gets more consistent minutes, that should give us an immediate lift.”

The other piece that will help Fox Chapel’s offense is patience. The Foxes don’t have a lot of size in the lineup and also have a number of younger players.

As Fox Chapel gets more varsity experience, Matvey expects numbers to trend in better directions. The Foxes were scheduled to open section play Dec. 12 against Penn Hills. Results from that game were too late for this edition.

“Outside of Lyla (Jablon) and Bailey (Sacco), everyone is adjusting to the speed and pressure of 5A basketball,” Matvey said. “We’ve seen plenty of flashes, missed layups, shots that don’t fall yet, free throws — and if we convert just a few more of those, our scoring jumps significantly.”

Fox Chapel has leaned into playing a pesky, in-your-face style on defense that may be able to help fill some gaps. The Foxes have been consistent in creating turnovers.

Fox Chapel hasn’t been as efficient as Matvey would like at turning them into points.

“We’re generating turnovers at a high rate, but we have to do a better job at converting them after we force them,” Matvey said.

Matvey said that he believes Fox Chapel understands what its identity is. The Foxes being comfortable in their roles should lead to increased efficiency.

“What I’m most encouraged by is that the identity hasn’t changed,” Matvey said. “They play hard whether they are up or down 10, and that’s been a staple of the program.”

Tags: Fox Chapel