Gateway girls hungry to get back to winning ways

By: Michael Love
Sunday, November 17, 2024 | 11:01 AM

The numbers haven’t been pretty the past couple of seasons for the Gateway girls basketball team since making the WPIAL playoffs in 2020-21.

The Gators own just 11 wins the past three seasons and were victorious twice last year in 22 games. The team enters this season hoping to snap a 24-game section losing streak.

Veteran Gateway coach Curtis Williams said that while there have been struggles on the court recently, he sees positive signs pointing to improvement on the scoreboard and in the record book.

“There is a new, positive vibe, and we just have to keep focused and keep doing the work to hopefully turn the program back into the direction we want it to head,” Williams said.

“If we work hard and stay together, we have a chance to get some wins. I don’t know if we are looked upon to be favored to win many games, but it’s a different outlook for the girls with fresh opportunities. It is definitely invigorating.”

Six seniors who started or played significant minutes last season moved on because of graduation.

Anayla Jordan, a guard who led the team in scoring, now is a freshman on the women’s team at LaRoche.

“We’re an inexperienced and young group,” Williams said. “We have nine freshmen coming in. We have four seniors, two juniors and four sophomores. A majority of the group weren’t ones who played a lot.”

The quartet of seniors, Williams said, are ready to help lead the team into the season.

Guard/forward Casey Glaze and guard Rachel Szymanski, junior varsity players two years ago, stepped up into bigger roles last season. Glaze was selected a team captain.

Guard Joy McBean and forward Shavonne Williams also are back.

“The seniors have come in with a positive attitude and a different belief, and they are determined to not have the type of season they had last year,” Williams said. “They are working incredibly hard, and they listen. With the inclusion of the nine freshmen who come in with a fresh perspective, it looks like it is starting to get back to where it was when we were in our winning ways.”

Williams said the team is developing a “Why not us?” perspective on the season.

“We’re not that far removed from success with the WPIAL title in 2018 and winning section titles in 2019 and 2020,” Williams said. “They see that when they look up at the banners on the wall in the gym. The girls are hungry to get back to that.”

WPIAL realignment removed Indiana, last year’s Section 1-5A champion, as well as both Woodland Hills and Kiski Area.

Gateway again will face Franklin Regional, Penn Hills and Plum, while experiencing fresh matchups with Shaler, Fox Chapel and 2024 WPIAL Class 5A runner-up Armstrong.

Plum and Penn Hills both qualified for last year’s Class 5A playoffs.

“Most of teams in the section lost a lot of talent with senior classes moving on,” Williams said. “Armstrong lost basically two Division I players (Emma Paul, Kyla Fitzgerald). Plum lost Megan Marston (Case Western) and their post player (Pascale Olczak, Allegheny). Franklin Regional and Penn Hills also lost a lot. From what I hear, Shaler lost a lot with seniors graduating, and (Cornelius) Nesbit is now at Belle Vernon, so they are working with a new coaching staff and new system coming in.

“It will be interesting to see what happens. There was a lot of turnover all throughout the section, but we know that there still is a lot of talented players on each team.”

Williams said everyone in the program is excited to welcome in Sam Salih as an assistant coach.

Salih most recently served three seasons as the girls head coach at Deer Lakes.

“Sam and I go back to our high school days,” Williams said. “To add a coach with a new perspective and one who also has 20-plus years of head coaching experience at the high school level and also a couple of years of collegiate experience, that has helped change the dynamic and is really refreshing for the girls.”

Gateway is scheduled to return to the Play 4 Mae Tournament on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at Woodland Hills.

The Gators will play Clairton on Nov. 30 at 2:45 p.m. and Woodland Hills on Dec. 1 at 4 p.m.

“Both games will be good tests for the girls to see where we are and see what we still have to work on,” Williams said.

Gateway begins section play at Fox Chapel on Dec. 17 before hosting Franklin Regional two days later.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway