Relentless rebounder flying high for Monessen girls

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, February 7, 2024 | 11:01 AM

There is something about looking to the sky that fascinates Hailey Johnson.

A Monessen senior basketball player, Johnson wants to be a pilot and plans to go to flight school at Bowling Green next year.

Until then, she will continue to rip rebounds down as they bounce off the rim.

When a shot goes up, Johnson is ready for takeoff, a desire and want pushing her.

“I just feel like, go for it,” Johnson said. “Go for every ball.”

Johnson, who is 5-foot-8 but plays sometimes like she is 6-4, has been on a double-double run of late for Monessen (15-4, 9-0 Section 2-A), the No. 4-ranked team in WPIAL Class A by TribLive HSSN.

Her recent stretch included 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals against Geibel; 14 points, 18 rebounds and six steals against West Greene; 14 points and 18 rebounds vs. Jefferson-Morgan; and 13 points and 15 boards in a rematch with West Greene.

She had 14 points and 13 boards in a win over Mapletown on Monday.

While 1,000 career points is often a highlight for four-year starters like Johnson, her goal is 1,000 rebounds.

The recent stretch of games put her over 900 career rebounds. (She has about 700 career points).

“She’s skinny as a rail,” Monessen coach Janine Vertacnik said. “But she is nonstop and relentless. There is no quit in her, and she wants to win. She’s like the Energizer Bunny.”

Johnson says she does, in fact, anticipate where the ball is going to ricochet. Her mind is a play or two ahead.

“I have been playing so long, if I see a certain point where the ball is going, I can tell where’s it’s going to come off,” she said. “I see a lot of people give up (on rebounds). I try to go for it every single time.”

Monessen was allowing just 31.4 points, the second-lowest defensive scoring average in the classification.

“Defensively, she is top-notch,” Vertacnik said. “She has a knack for knowing where the ball is coming off. Our girls don’t always box out. She slithers after it and gets after every ball.”

Johnson believes experience from a team that made the WPIAL quarterfinals and PIAA playoffs last year can carry over.

“We’re more improved,” Johnson said. “We work together, and there is good chemistry together. We have a few freshmen with little experience, but we’re teaching them so they can get in the game.”

Johnson said she looked up to her older brother, Paul, who played basketball at Monessen. She watched him rebound and wanted to follow suit. Kind of like the first time she stepped in front of an airplane control panel.

“My junior year, we had a discovery flight,” she said. “We got a feel for what it was like to be in the cockpit. There’s adrenaline, and the skies are beautiful.

“I always knew I wanted to travel. I don’t want to be in one place for too long.”

Just like when the ball goes up.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Monessen