Defensive-minded Greensburg Salem dominates Derry in section opener

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, December 14, 2023 | 10:34 PM

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Greensburg Salem continued to show how much defense is wired into its grid by smothering another opponent in the Section 1-4A girls basketball opener.

With full-court defensive pressure as the catalyst, the long-armed Golden Lions won going away 64-29 on Thursday night at Derry.

Greensburg Salem (4-1, 1-0) came in allowing just 20.2 points per game.

“We’re a pretty good defensive rebounding team, and we have been able to play man or zone,” Golden Lions coach Rick Klimchock said. “We’re more versatile in that we can do both. We were best tonight when we went full-court man.

“There are a lot of one-and-dones for us because we’re getting good boards.”

In other words, teams are getting only one shot on many possessions because the Golden Lions are cleaning the glass.

Senior Kait Mankins scored a game-high 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots in a balanced effort.

It was 42-12 at halftime, which meant the mercy rule was in effect in the second half.

“We were a little tired because we had a quick turnaround,” said Mankins, a Division II D’Youville commit. “We’ve been good in our (2-3) zone. We play off each other. If one of us is doing well, everyone sees that.”

Junior Regan Kerr added 14 points and 10 rebounds, senior guard Ashlan Price had 12 points and senior guard Gia Rosensteel chipped in 10 points, all in the first half.

Price is an Allegheny commit, and Rosensteel is headed to Carlow.

Derry, dinged up by the loss of injured senior and second-leading scorer Rachelle Marinchek, who is out for the season, moved to 2-4, 0-1.

Junior Jane Huss had 11 points, freshman Haylee Myers chipped in eight and senior Sam Gruska had seven for the persistent Trojans. Derry managed to score the second-most points allowed by Greensburg Salem, which lost to Blackhawk in overtime 40-35.

“They pose problems defensively with their size,” Derry coach Gene Brisbane said. “You get a shot and it looks like you’re wide open, but they put pressure on you so quickly.”

The Golden Lions allowed 12, 18 and 11 points in their other wins, which came against Ringgold, Connellsville and South Allegheny.

They shut out South Allegheny in the third quarter Wednesday, 17-0.

Greensburg Salem was relentless again against Derry, blocking shots, closing out on shooters and forcing the Trojans into mistakes.

Derry, which had 11 players, had most of its junior varsity girls play varsity.

A game that was tied 2-2 early methodically swung in Greensburg Salem’s favor.

It was 22-6 after the first quarter, and a 13-0 run in the second quarter that included a steal and layup by Rosensteel and a putback from Kerr, increased the margin to 37-11.

A 3 by Gruska came early in the second quarter, but the Trojans didn’t make another field goal until the third, a span of more than six minutes.

Klimchock likes the way his team is sharing the ball, but he also appreciates the girls’ help defense.

“Mankins is a terrific defensive player,” Klimchock said. “She has long arms and plays smart. Price is good on shooters, and Kerr is a really strong rebounder.

“Our communication has been good. Price is a big talker. So are Kerr and Mankins.”

Kerr agreed on the communication point.

“We’re talking a lot on defense,” she said. “We want to go far this season, and we think we can.”

The coaching matchup featured men with a combined 804 wins — 412 for Brisbane and 392 for Klimchock.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Derry Area, Greensburg Salem