Penn Hills girls get healthy in time for playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 17, 2018 | 12:18 AM

It's not how you start a season, it's how you finish. The Penn Hills girls basketball team had a rocky regular season as injuries took a toll, but the Indians did enough to qualify for the postseason.

The Indians (13-8, 5-5 Section 2-6A) didn't lose a section game the past two seasons and made deep runs in both the WPIAL and state playoffs.

However, this season was more challenging after the injury bug hit key contributors for the Indians, who qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for the sixth season in a row.

But the Indians hoped to make a run in the playoffs now that junior guard/forward Tayonna Robertson and freshman center Delainey Carpenter returned late in the season from injury.

“Getting Delainey back in the last week and Tayonna back in the last two weeks on limited minutes really helped us out because it really gave our team energy and gave us more people to get in and out of game to get a little bit of rest here,” coach Robert Cash said.

In order to make it to the state playoffs, the Indians will need to grab one of the five seeds for Class 6A. Their first test is against Mt. Lebanon (11-11, 6-4) in a first-round game Tuesday at Baldwin. The Indians defeated the Blue Devils, 43-39, in the North Allegheny Tournament on Dec. 11.

The injury bug struck Penn Hills early when the Indians lost the services of junior guard Diamond-Jay Whittington, who averaged 7.7 points last season. She tore her ACL before the season began.

The Indians needed all the firepower they could find without graduated guard Desiree Oliver, who is now starting at Temple.

With the Indians' depth already being tested, Penn Hills also lost Robertson to a dislocated kneecap in the fourth game of the season against Norwin on Dec. 19.

In Robertson's absence, Cash relied on junior guard Adia Brisker and Ariana Dunson.

“At the beginning of the year, we didn't have much depth with her. Then with her injury, playing more kids and getting more freshmen in the game has made us a lot deeper and better,” Cash said.

“A lot of kids got experience with playing in some tight basketball games. They got to see what it's like to play at the high school level and how to compete.”

Robertson returned to floor when the Indians traveled to Penn-Trafford on Jan. 30 and defeated the Warriors, 55-35. In her third game back, Robertson led the Indians with 17 points in a 39-26 win over Woodland Hills on Feb. 6.

Carpenter returned to the floor against Latrobe on Feb. 9 after missing a month. Brisker led the Indians with 15 points, while Dunson added 14 points in a 59-51 win over Latrobe to split the season series.

The Indians also split games with Penn-Trafford and Hempfield.

“For them to get a second chance to come out and compete in the playoffs at the highest classification, I don't think that can get any better for the kids,” Cash said.

“Hopefully, we can make a magical run and do some special things in the playoffs.”

Andrew John is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn Hills