Plum girls basketball team excited to earn playoff spot

By: Michael Love
Sunday, February 12, 2023 | 4:45 PM

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It was quite the roller-coaster final week of section play for the Plum girls basketball team.

A 49-35 loss at Kiski Area last Monday — the Mustangs’ third section setback in a row — put them at 5-6 in the section standings and put a dent in their postseason chances.

When Penn Hills defeated the Cavaliers on Wednesday to join Kiski Area in the WPIAL Class 5A tournament, Plum’s direction was clear.

The Mustangs had to defeat section leader Indiana on Thursday if they wanted to join in on the fun. A loss meant the end of their playoff hopes.

But Plum picked itself off the mat and topped Indiana, 58-52, to secure a trip to the playoffs. Now, the Mustangs hope for a fresh start as the postseason begins this week.

“That week was very up and down emotionally,” Plum junior guard Megan Marston said.

“We were all down after Kiski. It would’ve been very easy after losing to Kiski and having Penn Hills beat Kiski to get down on ourselves. Then, at the time, we weren’t even sure if beating Indiana was going to be enough to get us in. We weren’t sure of how (the scenarios) would play out. We could’ve easily not have shown up against Indiana, and just let the game play out.

“But the opposite happened. Several players stepped up for us, and we played really well as a team. We didn’t give up, and we wanted to make a statement win happen.”

Marston led the way against Indiana with 17 points, senior Cam Rogers scored 14 and freshman Riley Stephens scored 12. Plum outscored Indiana, 25-17, in the fourth quarter when it was 12 of 18 from the line.

Indiana, No. 5 last week in the Triblive HSSN Class 5A rankings, was without two of its starters who were recovering from injury, but star 6-foot-5 senior forward Eve Fiala, a Dayton commit, was strong with a game-best 23 points.

“We just concentrated on playing our best against Indiana before anything else,” Marston said.

“Later that night, we got a phone call saying that we were probably in the playoffs. When it was confirmed, we all started celebrating through our group text chat. Right after the game, we weren’t 100 percent sure we were in it.”

Indiana (11-1) and Woodland Hills (8-4) grabbed the top two playoff spots from Section 2.

Plum, Penn Hills and Kiski Area all finished 6-6 in Section 2.

Each of the three teams had their four-game record compared against the other two. Penn Hills led the way with a 3-1 mark against Plum and Kiski Area, so the Indians became the third-place team.

From there, head-to-head was used to determine fourth between Plum and Kiski Area. Because the teams split their season series — the Mustangs beat the Cavaliers, 54-47, at Plum on Jan. 12 — both qualify.

“We just wanted to stay positive and keep working each day, no matter what the situation was,” Plum coach Rich Mull said.

“We knew that if we didn’t beat Indiana, it was over, so we made sure we were as ready as possible for that game. That’s what we could control. Everything else just fell into place.”

The Plum players and coaches gathered Sunday for a late -morning practice in advance of Monday’s regular-season finale against Class 6A playoff qualifier and perennial WPIAL power Chartiers Valley.

“If we didn’t qualify, it would’ve been our last practice with our seniors ever,” Marston said. “It is a really nice feeling that we went to practice today knowing that there are more practices to come ahead of playoffs.

“We’re all excited for a good game against Chartiers Valley. They are a great team, and it will be another great test for us before playoffs start. I know we’ve pulled some pretty big upsets (Peters Township, Indiana) for what people thought we would do going into those games. A lot of people don’t think we’ll beat Chartiers Valley, but I am excited to go at it with them and try our best.”

The Mustangs, like many other qualifying teams, will gather as a group to watch the playoff pairings show live Monday at 3 p.m. on the Triblive High School Sports Network.

In addition to the Plum girls, Kiski Area, Highlands, Knoch, Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, St. Joseph, Riverview and Leechburg have punched tickets to the postseason and will hear their names called during the reveal.

“We’re ready to go for the playoffs, no matter when we play or who we play,” Marston said. “We know that whoever it is we face, it will be a great challenge.

“My freshman year was the covid year so everyone got in the playoffs. But the way things played out in the section we weren’t supposed to make it. This is the first time in my high school career where we deserve to make playoffs. That is a great feeling because we worked for it and worked hard for it.”

It was a bittersweet 2021 tournament experience for Plum, which topped Lincoln Park in the first round at Plum for the program’s second playoff win and first in nearly 20 years. The team then ran into covid issues and had to forfeit its first-round game at Chartiers Valley.

The Mustangs missed out on the playoffs last season after finishing 3-9 in their section.

On Saturday, Triblive HSSN’s Don Rebel predicted Plum would draw Trinity in a 4-13 matchup. But the basketball pairings committee has the final say.

Preliminary games in several of the tournaments could be as early as Wednesday or Thursday.

“We played some really good competition this year, in and out of the section, and the girls will be ready to go against whoever we play,” Mull said.

“If we are able to work on some things and clean some things up, I like our chances. We’re in, and that is pretty positive.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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