Plum girls look to finish strong in hopes of returning to WPIAL playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 | 8:45 PM

At the midway point of the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s Section 2-5A game against Franklin Regional, the Plum girls basketball team held a 46-45 lead and hoped to hold on for the victory.

However, the Panthers, second in the section behind frontrunner Gateway, grabbed the lead back and pulled away for a 64-54 win.

“We did a good job in the first half, it was tied at halftime, and did a nice job defending (Cali) Konek who is a pretty dangerous shooter,” Mustangs coach Steve Elsier said.

“(Jordan) Yaniga played an excellent game down low (30 points, 14 rebounds). We need to guard the post a little better, no matter what defense we’re in. That’s what hurt us at times (Tuesday). Franklin Regional has five seniors, and they’re a good team. We were right there in the fourth quarter. We played a good game overall. We just have to be able to finish games like that.”

The Mustangs (7-9, 3-4), who are in fifth place in Section 2, have had what Elsier describes as several frustrating outcomes in section this season, but they also have put themselves in position to make a run at one of the four WPIAL playoff spots from the section.

“We just have to take it a game at a time and not look too far ahead,” Elsier said. “I preach that all the time to the players. We have to go up to Mars (Thursday) and play really well and compete to win.”

The Planets, the defending PIAA Class 5A state champions, are one of the teams Plum is chasing in its quest to return to the playoffs. The margin of error for the Mustangs is shrinking with five section games remaining.

Mars, which topped Plum when the teams met Dec. 21 at Plum High School, finds itself tied with Armstrong for third place in the section at 5-3. The Planets, behind leading scorer Tai Johnson, suffered a 48-39 loss to Gateway on Monday. Armstrong also edged Mars, 29-28, on Jan. 10.

“Mars is a young and talented team on both ends of the floor,” Elsier said. “We have to take care of the ball and create good shots. We can’t relax on defense, because they can really put points on the board.”

Eliser said he has seen improvements in his team from the start of the season at the McKeesport tournament.

“We’ve gotten a lot better with valuing the basketball on offense,” Elsier said. “(Tuesday against Franklin Regional) also was one of the first nights everyone contributed well offensively. On defense, we’ve played a lot more man this year, and we’ve done a good job with our close outs and our rebounding.”

Plum is averaging 45 points on offensive and surrendering 46.6 a game defensively.

Sophomore forward Kennedie Montue leads the team in scoring at 19.1 points per game and in rebounds at 13.4 a contest. She tallied 18 points to lead Plum against Franklin Regional.

Montue said the team understands the importance of Thursday’s game with Mars.

“We are pretty close to Mars in the section,” Montue said. “We’re watching film to see where we can improve. We’re pretty confident going into this game.”

Plum won two of three in the final week of the regular season last year to wrestle away the fourth playoff spot in the section from challengers Kiski Area and Franklin Regional.

Elsier said his still young group, with just two seniors (Alexa Seigh and Kelsi Zik) on the roster after only one graduated last year, appreciates the position its in to battle again for the postseason in the final weeks.

“We’re really excited for this opportunity. We just have to continue to work as a team,” said Zik, who averages 9.6 points. “We know we have the skill and potential to make a run. We just have to show it.”

On Tuesday, Plum begins a stretch of three games against teams it defeated in the first half of the section schedule. The Mustangs host Armstrong on Tuesday, travel to Hampton on Jan. 31 and return home to face Kiski Area on Feb. 5.

“Our goal always is to get into the playoffs, win a playoff game and build from there,” Elsier said. “The section is so competitive. From top to bottom, regardless of record, anybody can beat anybody else. We have a lot of good opportunities to move up in the standings. We want to get into that top three, and we have to play our best to do that, starting with Mars.”

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at 412-388-5825, mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MLove_Trib.

Tags: Plum