Kiski Area girls basketball team hoping for more after ‘signature’ win

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, December 22, 2017 | 1:30 PM

A section victory over Albert Gallatin late in the 2014-15 season snapped a 24-game section losing streak for the Kiski Area girls basketball team.

Little did that group know that another section triumph wouldn't come for two full seasons.

But all streaks are made to be broken, and the latest streak ender – Monday's 32-29 Section 4-5A win over Plum put to bed a 26-game skid in section play – had head coach Nick Ionadi flowing with confidence in his players.

“Now they know they can win tight games,” Ionadi said. “We wanted these girls to think bigger than ‘as long as we try, we'll be OK.' We wanted to do what these other schools are doing.”

Sophomore Violeta Kenzevich hit the game-winning shot – a 16-foot jumper – with 16 seconds left, and senior Katelyn Brown sealed the win with a pair of fouls shots with three ticks on the clock.

“We kept getting close last season,” Ionadi said. “We lost to Indiana at the buzzer, and we were hanging on in other games. Now, we got one of these tight ones. We can build off this and win more. It's a signature win for this young team.”

Kiski Area, 1-1 in section play, hosts Indiana in section play Thursday. The Indians are off to a tough 0-2 start in section and are 1-4 overall.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Kiski School