North Allegheny girls basketball knows what lies ahead

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 2, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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North Allegheny guard Brynn Serbin doesn't plan to slog through the final four games of the regular season.

There is still much experience to be gained. Experience is the only thing left for the Tigers to gain.

When it comes to playoff-qualifying scenarios, the games mean northing to North Allegheny.

The Tigers wrapped up their sixth straight Section 1 title by beating Seneca Valley, 35-24, on Jan. 29.

North Allegheny (18-0, 9-0 through Feb. 1) wants to keeping working. Another deep run into the PIAA playoffs — and second straight WPIAL title — isn't going to just materialize.

“We understand what is at risk,” Serbin said. “We know we have a spot locked up and everything. We want to play every game like we approached the other ones.”

Having a consistent approach hasn't steered the Tigers wrong yet. North Allegheny has beaten its opponent by an average of 19 points. In four games, the Tigers have held their opponents to fewer than 30 points.

North Allegheny knows it will need to be able to win such low-scoring affairs.

“Those are games that are more February-ish,” North Allegheny coach Spencer Stefko said. “We try to gear everything toward February, and it's nice to have games in December where you are running down and playing in the 70s, but the reality is it's not happening in February.”

Knowing what happens in February — and early March — is something North Allegheny has plenty of experience with. The Tigers won their first WPIAL title last season, reached the PIAA finals last season and advance to the semifinals two years.

How much that matters is up for debate.

“I'd like to think it does, but at the same time you never know, you run into a young team with a bunch of young kids who don't know any better and maybe experience doesn't matter as much,” Stefko said. “You hope experience helps, but at the end of the day it comes down to how well you defend and how well you chase down your misses.”

Serbin is excited to see how North Allegheny handles the pressure again.

There won't be any surprises for the Tigers.

“I think the experience helps a lot because most of our team has been there before, and we've become comfortable with those environments with loud crowds,” Serbin said.

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: North Allegheny