Fox Chapel starting to see light at end of injury-filled tunnel

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, January 6, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Marty Matvey doesn’t need to give pep talks on weathering adversity. The crushing presence of reality has allowed the Fox Chapel girls basketball coach to allow the Foxes to learn that skill on the job.

For the past month, Fox Chapel has been without three starters and has been forced to go deep into its bench.

“Unfortunately, we are well-versed in the next-girl-up mentality,” Matvey said. “When we aren’t fully healthy, we’ve learned to be resilient and adaptable. That’s something I learned as a young coach and as a player.”

Fox Chapel, which is off to a 3-8 start overall and a 1-2 mark in Section 2-5A, lost senior guard Sarah Slember early in the season to a torn ACL. Fellow senior guard Skylar Byrnes missed several games due to an ankle injury after suffering an injury to her other ankle last year. Sophomore point guard Lyla Jablon also missed time.

Fox Chapel’s game Jan. 4 against Hampton was the first time Byrnes and Jablon were slated to be back in the lineup.

The Foxes did beat New Castle, 64-33, on the road Dec. 18. During a section game against Mars, a 66-57 loss, Matvey saw what he hoped from his team.

Bella Urso stepped up with a 24-point performance. But she also added eight assists, eight rebounds and eight steals.

“It’s tough playing without your second-team all-section point guard,” Matvey said. “Lyla flies the plane on offense. But against Mars, Bella was able to step in and run things.”

Everyone on the team dug in against the Fightin’ Planets. The Foxes trailed by 22 points at one point but were able to claw back within six.

“We keep on fighting,” Matvey said. “That’s the M.O. of our staff and program. We are never going to quit and are going to continue to fight. We’ve been in every game this season except for against Peters Township.”

Guard Adina Rosen has been asked to step in and start for the past few weeks.

“She’s done a nice job filling in,” Matvey said. “We’ve had several kids on the bench step up and play well.”

After missing nearly all of her junior year due to an ankle injury, Matvey said Burnes will return and try to work through the injury. If Fox Chapel can get a few weeks of continuity, Matvey believes the Foxes will have an opportunity to make a run at the playoffs.

The section race was wild last season and came down to the last few games.

“We played some good teams tough and we lost,” Matvey said. “Getting some of our other players back we will still have a chance to compete and make the playoffs.”

Tags: Fox Chapel