Trib HSSN girls basketball team of the week for Jan. 28, 2024

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, January 28, 2024 | 5:34 PM

Trib HSSN girls basketball team of the week: Lincoln Park Leopards

Coach: Ryan Kacsur (sixth season)

Record: 6-0 in Section 4-5A, 17-0 overall

Last year: Lincoln Park finished in third place in Section 4-5A, behind district champion South Fayette and Trinity. It was the first time the program qualified for the WPIAL postseason, although the Leopards did participate in the 2021 district open tournament. With several starters missing because of the PIAA postseason transfer rule, the Leopard lost to Mars in the opening round, 56-29, that year.

#Earned: The Leopards continued their perfect season with a 3-0 week that included a huge section showdown road victory. On Monday, Lincoln Park cruised past host Quaker Valley, 71-37. The next night, the Leopards traveled to Trinity with first place up for grabs. Trailing 37-23 at halftime, the Leopards flexed their defensive muscles and limited the Hillers to 14 second-half points as they rallied to win a thriller as time expired in overtime, 61-60. On Friday, Lincoln Park began the second half of section play with a 63-39 victory at West Allegheny.

Scoring stars: Lincoln Park has outscored its 17 opponents this season by an average score of 66-40. On Monday, the Leopards went over their average with 71 points as senior J’La Kizart led the team with 18 points while fellow seniors Maddie Syka and Abby Januzzi each scored 14. In the win at Trinity, Syka had a monster game, hit six 3-pointers and scored 39 points while senior Sarah Scott scored 15 points, including the game-winning tip-in at the buzzer. Against West Allegheny on Friday, Syka led with 17 points, Kizart had 15 points and senior Sincere Conley added 14.

Remember when: This is the ninth season of Lincoln Park girls basketball. The program started in 2015-16 and in the first four seasons, including the first year for Ryan Kacsur in 2018-19, the Leopards won a total of 25 games. Since then, they have won 13, 15, 12 and 18 games in the last four years. The team can set a school record for wins in a season with two more victories. Lincoln Park will be trying to win its first WPIAL playoff game this postseason after losing to Plum in 2021 and Mars in 2023.

2024 Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Teams of the Week

Week 3 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors

Week 2 – Aliquippa Quips

Week 1 – Norwin Knights

Tags: Lincoln Park