St. Joseph’s Julie Spinelli doing a little bit of everything

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, January 11, 2023 | 7:06 PM

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Julie Spinelli wants to win basketball games.

Whether that means she pours in 30-plus points or finishes in the low teens, the St. Joseph junior guard/forward wants to make a difference for the Spartans (8-2), who find themselves among the top teams in Class A heading into a Section 3-1A game with Leechburg at 7 p.m. Thursday.

“After beating Rochester and making the semifinals last year, teams from the start have come out extra hard, and we had to make sure we matched that intensity,” said Spinelli who averages 19.9 points and 10.3 rebounds for a St. Joseph team ranked No. 4 in this week’s TribLive HSSN Class A top five behind Bishop Canevin, Union and Aquinas Academy.

“Teams like Aquinas, Burrell and Freeport, they knew we only lost one player from last year’s team and we had gotten better in the offseason. They definitely gameplanned for us.”

St. Joseph’s only two losses came against Aquinas and Class 5A North Hills.

The Spartans topped Class 4A Belle Vernon, 54-48, at a season-opening showcase at Woodland Hills, and Spinelli led all scorers with 29 points.

“Belle Vernon was a tough team, and I think that opened some more eyes to what we could do this season,” Spinelli said.

“It really helped set the pace for the season, and we’ve created a strong winning environment where everyone works for each other. I was fortunate to play well in that game. We played a tough schedule (in December), and it showed that we’re not just winning in Class A but are able to find success against bigger schools.”

Spinelli’s season high came against Freeport in the championship game of the St. Joseph holiday tournament, where she scored 31, including 17 in the fourth quarter, as the Spartans edged the Yellowjackets, 56-55.

She has scored in double figures in every games this season and also is averaging 2.7 assists and 4.8 steals.

Spinelli feels her defense has improved.

“I am proud of that because defense goes a long way in helping create offense,” she said.

“Defense often is overlooked.”

She also is shooting 79% (49 of 62) from the free-throw line.

“Last year, my AAU coach challenged us to shoot 50 free throws a day,” she said. “I definitely made sure to do that every single day through the whole summer. That definitely helped.”

Sophomore Gia Richter (10.4) and junior Emma Swierczewski (8.3) also are key scorers for the Spartans, and junior Anna Kreinbrook has pulled down 8.8 rebounds a contest. Richter also is averaging 4.8 steals.

As St. Joseph gets into the heart of section play, the team’s focus is staying in shape, Spinelli said.

“We want to be as fresh down the stretch in the fourth quarter as we are in the first half and be able to pressure effectively the whole way,” she said.

St. Joseph went 4-0 against Alle-Kiski Valley teams in December and will get additional opportunities with nonsection games against Class 3A Deer Lakes on Jan. 23 and Class 4A Highlands on Jan. 24.

“We still have a long way to go to get to where we want to be,” Spinelli said.

“But we have played well as a team, and that has been important to our success so far. We want to make sure that continues.”

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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