Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Player of the Week: Makenna Marisa, Peters Township

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, January 6, 2019 | 9:00 PM

Makenna Marisa

School: Peters Township

Class: Senior

The Indians were 3-0 in Section 2-6A, 8-0 overall, heading into their first post-holiday contest, a showdown with Bethel Park, which also sported a perfect record.

Marisa had a complete game with 25 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a block in leading Peters Township to a 68-60 overtime win at Bethel Park.

Indians coach Bert Kendall pointed to one play in particular that showed off Marisa’s court intellect.

“With 45 seconds remaining in overtime, we set up our press break. It is up to Makenna to make a read,” he said. “If the opposition has five up, she signals to Isabella Mills and goes deep. I didn’t have to say a word on the sideline, and, sure enough, she went deep and got fouled and converted two big free throws.”

Marisa always is the focus on opponent’s attention. Playing in a section with several top coaches, game plans are made to keep her in check, of which Kendall is well aware.

“There are very good coaches in our section, so, yes, it is tougher for her than teams that are less familiar. That being said, her length and dribbling ability puts stress on defenders. Makenna is very unselfish and will make the pass to the open player, which makes doubling her or “spying” a strategy that she oftentimes breaks down with her passing ability.”

The Indians outscored the Black Hawks, 14-6, in overtime to pick up the huge road win and take over sole possession of first place.

“Road section wins are always important to win in your quest to capture a section title,” Kendall said. “A game like that was a big stage with a big crowd. It was the first chance for our new players on this year’s team experience that type of environment.”

While Kendall said Marisa has great athletic ability, there is another reason she is one of the best girls basketball players in the state.

“She puts in more time than any player I’ve coached with dribbling and shooting workouts. She has an incredible work ethic,” he said. “I say often, that it’s about ‘time on task’: The more time you spend on a task, the better you get at that task. Makenna is proof of that.”

Kendall also believes making the choice to play basketball at Penn State was important in her big start to her senior season.

“She had a big decision to make in terms of where to attend college,” Kendall said. “The process is a time-consuming one with the never-ending stream of texts, notes, visits. I think once she made her decision, she could relax and have fun playing high school basketball without any pressure to perform for college scouts.”

Honorable mention

Jenna Clark, Thomas Jefferson

The Jaguars played only once in a short week after the new year, but Clark made the most of it. The senior guard scored 33 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as Thomas Jefferson won big at home 75-41 over Lincoln Park. The win improved the Jaguars to 3-0 in Section 1-5A and 7-3 overall and ended a two game skid as TJ prepares to visit 3-1 South Fayette in a key section game Monday.

Marley Wolf, Riverside

Wolf was the picture of consistency in Riverside’s first two games of 2019. The junior scored 20 points in the Panthers’ 48-41 loss to Beaver Falls in a Section 1-3A game. Wolf then scored 22 points Saturday as Riverside won for only the second time in its last seven games as it rolled to a 60-26 win over Valley.

Brynn Boyd, Jefferson-Morgan

Jefferson-Morgan was 2-7 overall after splitting a pair of games at the Carmichaels King Coal Lions Tournament over the holidays. Perhaps the Rockets’ new year’s resolution was to win the rest of their games. They got off to a good start with a pair of wins this past week thanks in part to Boyd. She scored 16 points in a 41-21 Section 2-A win over Geibel. Twenty-four hours later, Boyd scored 20 points in a 45-33 nonsection win over Hundred (W.Va.).

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.