Hard-working Hempfield girls buy in on defense, get off to promising start

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, January 3, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Girls basketball practice is over — so says the clock — but parents sit idle in their vehicles outside of the Hempfield Spartan Field House, waiting to fill their backseats with tired daughters.

Ten minutes go by. Then 15. Then 20.

Finally, players begin filing out.

“I don’t make them stay,” first-year coach Bob Madison said. “I am strict about practice time and have it scheduled out to the minute. They stay after because they want to. Some of them have to shoot so many free throws or work on Mikan (right-left layup) drills before they leave.”

Hempfield (7-2) is putting in the time, and it is paying off with results.

“We want to be (at practice) so we’re more prepared,” senior swing-guard Ashley Hosni said. “We want to get better.”

Hempfield, which won five of its last six games going into Wednesday’s Section 1 opener, including wins over Plum and Indiana at the Latrobe Christmas tournament, was already two wins from its nine-win total from last season.

To a large degree, Hempfield’s pre-section success is a credit to defense.

Madison’s goal was to push the pace on offense, but he also wanted the girls to stay active on the other end of the floor.

“We’re trying to limit teams to one shot per possession,” Madison said. “We are contesting shots. When we play well on defense, it sparks the offense.”

Madison brought in a 2-2-1 press, a scheme he learned when he was a girls assistant at Laurel Highlands from 2013-16.

He also has warmed up to a man-to-man approach.

The Spartans were forcing about 20 turnovers a game.

“With anything new, it’s going to be met with some hesitation. It’s human nature,” Madison said. “But when the girls start seeing results, when it works, that is where the buy-in comes.”

The coach highlighted a number of players who have picked up their game on defense, sophomore guard Maddy Pevarnik, sophomore forward Gabby Coccia and junior guard Allie Cervola among them.

Junior forward Mia Shipman is another key rebounder and disruptor. She and Coccia are a budding front-court pair.

Hosni and senior point guard Sarah Podkul are the bookends holding up the starting five.

Podkul (13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists per game) said the team is playing with more energy and is excited to fine tune and make adjustments.

“We were very happy with how the season started,” Podkul said. “Every game, it’s like, let’s go.”

Hosni (11 ppg, 7 rpg, 3 apg) shared that sentiment, adding that the team is playing with more confidence.

“The atmosphere is more positive, and we’re more connected,” she said. “We have a certain mindset on defense.”

Cervola (10 ppg, 5 rpg) and Shipman (6 ppg, 8 rpg) also have raised their production.

The seniors lead by example on the floor, even if that means turning up the volume.

“When we played Plum and they went to a zone, Ashley told everyone to be patient,” Madison said. “I watched her take charge. The girls react to that. Our seniors don’t take a rep off.”

Hempfield is 7-0 when it scores at least 50 points.

After an early loss to Penn-Trafford (66-41), Hempfield handled Kiski Area (53-44), Ringgold (68-28) and North Hills (52-39) before losing at Indiana (49-38).

Eight days later, it was payback time. Hempfield erased a six-point deficit in the third quarter and topped Indiana, 50-42, to go 2-0 at the Latrobe Christmas tournament.

North Hills likes to play fast, too. It relies on transition points and 3-pointers.

The Spartans limited the Indians to four points in transition.

“We want to control the middle of the floor,” Madison said. “If we own the middle, good things happen.”

Madison is an assistant softball coach for Hempfield, an eight-time WPIAL champion with the eighth coming last spring.

His wife, Tina, is the head coach. Five softball players, including Podkul and Cervola, are also softball standouts.

Bob Madison said the carryover is “contagious” and part of a “culture.”

Sophomore Ava Shipman was expected to play a key role in basketball as well, but she is out with a knee injury.

“We have had several girls step up to fill the void,” he said.

The Spartans will play back-to-back section games, hosting Pine-Richland on Wednesday before a road trip to Seneca Valley on Thursday.

The softball girls know Seneca Valley well. The teams met in last year’s WPIAL championship.

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

Tags: Hempfield