Peters Township girls lean on length, depth in nonsection victory over Trinity

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, December 10, 2018 | 10:48 PM

Peters Township’s girls basketball team showcases the main attraction of senior guard Makenna Marisa.

However, the Indians’ team length and depth will play a big role if they achieve their goals of making deep WPIAL and PIAA playoff runs this season.

Marisa, along with junior Mackenzie Lehman, led the Indians to a 57-26 win over Trinity (1-2) in nonsection action at Peters Township on Monday night.

The Indians’ (3-0) length disrupted the Hillers’ offense and held Trinity to four first-half points as Peters Township took a 31-4 lead into the locker room.

“We played very solid man defense and good help defense. I think our athleticism and length just makes it tough on teams,” Peters Township coach Bert Kendall said.

“It’s one thing to see it on film, but when you can’t really practice against it because you don’t have it on your team, it’s tough on teams until they adjust to it.”

Marisa, a Penn State recruit, hit five 3-pointers and finished with 23 points. She scored 12 of 23 points in the second quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.

“She’s such a pure shooter and a good ball-handler, you just know that she’s going to run off a streak,” Kendall said.

Lehman, a Liberty lacrosse recruit, recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Lehman scored eight of 16 points in the third quarter.

“She’s a lacrosse player and this is first year to play basketball for the program. We’re glad to have her. She jumps, she boxes out and she was a force in there today,” Kendall said.

Even after trailing 27 points at half, the Hillers didn’t quit and scored 22 points in the second half.

“It’s a teaching moment, and we’re young. There are going to be those moments when we come out and don’t do what we needed to do. I liked the effort in the second half. They didn’t quit. They came out and played hard in the second half,” Trinity coach Bob Miles said.

“You don’t see many teams with that kind of length. The length in the passing lanes takes away some of stuff with the picks and rolls.”

Sophomore guard Kaylin Venick scored 12 points to lead Trinity, which only has one senior on the roster. Venick scored six of her 12 points in the fourth quarter. Senior forward Julia Chakos finished with six points.

The Hillers went 10 for 24 from the foul line.

Last season, the Indians defeated Trinity, 51-35, in a nonsection matchup.

Freshman forward Journey Thompson finished with seven points and freshman forward Avana Sayles netted six in the win.

Even with the big lead at half, Kendall wanted to stress to the Indians, who are coming off a WPIAL runner-up finish, the importance of not letting up in the second half.

“We talk about playing to our standard and not to the score,” Kendall said. “We have our own goals on the sidelines, so we aren’t worried about the score. We want to make sure we’re executing, boxing out and rebounding.”

Andrew John is a freelance writer.

Tags: Peters Township, Trinity