Kiski Area girls basketball ends season on high note

By: William Whalen
Monday, March 7, 2022 | 11:50 AM

For the Kiski Area girls basketball team, all the pieces are in place. The only thing to do now is to continue to work, train and wait until next season.

“Overall, I was happy with how hard the girls competed,” said Kiski Area coach Nick Dizon, who just finished his third season. “I was happy with the growth, and the end of the season going on a three-game winning streak was good.”

For a program that has been through lean times in recent years, Kiski Area (9-13, 3-9) finished the regular season with its longest winning streak of the season and under Dizon.

After nearly pulling an upset over ranked Section 2-5A rival Indiana, the Cavaliers played spoiler down the stretch by beating section rival Plum and future playoff teams St. Joseph and Freeport. The 61-55 loss to Indiana sparked the Cavaliers.

“We never like to lose, but that game that was definitely the hardest loss we took,” junior Lexi Colaianni said. “I said to them (after the game), if this doesn’t show you anything, we almost beat the No. 1 team in our section. That gave our team some insight into that we’re not bad.”

The Cavaliers rostered four seniors, one junior and numerous underclassmen.

“We’re real excited about our freshmen and sophomores,” Dizon said. “We basically have seven of our top nine coming back.”

Kiski Area finished fifth in the section. The Cavaliers closed 2021 with a 4-4 record before they went into section play. That’s when things took a turn.

Kiski Area notched its first section win of the season by defeating Fox Chapel, then went on a six-game losing skid. The win over Fox Chapel snapped a three-year section losing streak. Dizon had yet to win a section game as coach.

“During that stretch, I think we were still trying to figure out how to win and close out games,” Dizon said. “I think that’s an example of growing in a loss and not being defeated by it. I wanted us to be happy at times but not satisfied.”

The Cavaliers got back into the win column with another win over Fox Chapel. Then things began to change for the better.

“We started peaking at the right time, but it just has to happen a little earlier,” Dizon said.

Kiski Area was led by sophomore Abigail Johns. She averaged 11.6 points, followed by Colaianni (10.1). Johns and sophomore Cora Coleman tied for the team lead in rebounds with a total of 97.

Outside of Johns and Colaianni, the Cavaliers had a good scoring balance.

Senior Karly Keller, sophomore Emma Peck and freshman Rikiya Garcia-Broaden and Madeline Joyce all averaged about four points.

“We had a lot of kids score,” Dizon said. “We had more balance than we’ve ever had before, I thought.”

One of the team goals Dizon put in place before the season was to have a .500 or better record at home, which the Cavaliers did (6-5).

“I didn’t want the year to end,” Dizon said. “I really enjoyed coaching those girls. It was really good for the girls, and I’m happy for them to find a taste of success.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Kiski Area