No. 2-ranked Neshannock girls get defensive

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 9, 2019 | 5:36 PM

The Neshannock girls basketball team can win games in a variety of ways by deploying different stifling defensive schemes.

The Lancers (9-2, 4-1 Section 1-3A), the Tribune Review’s No. 2-ranked team in Class 3A, are holding opponents to a section-low 37.7 points per game. Coach Luann Grybowski has her team buying into her defense-first mentality.

“We have done a great job putting pressure on the ball and giving great help,” Grybowski said. “We box out very well and sometimes we take a few extra chances, but we get more steals than we give up layups or points.

“Our tenacity on defense is our biggest thing you’d see watching us play.”

The Lancers beat section foe Avonworth, 61-42, behind a 24-point performance from senior Bella Burrelli and 10 points from freshman Neleh Nogay on Monday. Grybowski said the dominating performance and defensive tenacity was a confidence boost that showed how good this team can be down the stretch.

“Normally we like to play straight man-to-man, but we mixed in matchups and zones, triangle and two and we pressed a bit and did a half-court trap,” Grybkowski said. “We kept them off guard, hoping they wouldn’t recognize what we were doing and know what to run. We were successful in that area.”

Grybkowski said the victory gave the Lancers a sense of confidence that if the game plan is executed on a nightly basis, they could be a difficult opponent as the season progresses.

“That was one of our better games as far as the season goes so far,” she said. “You hope we can progress and get better each game, but if we played the way we played (Monday) night, we should be great.”

Burrelli is averaging 19.5 points, 12 rebounds and four steals per game. Senior Brie Dean is second with 9.8 ppg and is making three pointers at a 40 percent clip.

Nogay and juniors Ellina DeLillo and Kaylee George round out the starting five, and their contributions are noticeable on a nightly basis. Juniors Jesse Fehrs and Lacey Solomon and sophomore Madison DeMatteo have provided useful minutes off the bench.

Grybkowski said the goal the rest of the season will be to continue to play their brand of basketball. The ultimate goal of winning the section and making the WPIAL and state playoffs are obvious, but continuing to stifle on defense and play with a team-first mentality will be the focus.

“We don’t have a ‘me’ mentality, we have a ‘we’ mentality,” she said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, so as long as they believe that, I’ll keep coaching.”

Brian Graham is a freelance writer.

Tags: Neshannock