Trib HSSN girls basketball team of the week for week ending Jan. 17, 2021

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, January 17, 2021 | 10:38 PM

Three times this century, the Burgettstown girls basketball program began the season with a 3-0 record.

That happened in back-to-back years in 2014-15 and again in 2015-16. Both of those times the Blue Devils missed the playoffs.

It happened again last season, and Burgettstown made the playoffs only to lose in the first round to Riverview, 32-28.

With the WPIAL holding an open tournament this postseason, qualifying won’t be an issue. However this year’s team doesn’t just want to qualify.

Burgettstown is off to a 4-0 start thanks to three victories this past week. Eighth-year coach Megan Zitner is pleased with her team’s start.

“It’s been nice having great competition early on,” she said. “I would say our team has done a great job of playing together and keeping their composure in close games.”

Two of the wins were double-digit victories over Keystone Oaks (59-49) and Carlynton (57-36) while the other was a nail-biting overtime triumph, 40-38 over Chartiers-Houston.

“We definitely had a few moments where it looked like we had dug ourselves into a hole, but we fought back every time,” Zitner said. “I give them a lot of credit. They could have easily become overwhelmed or quit, but they were pretty poised, and we managed to get the wins.”

The Blue Devils’ offense has been very balanced with four players seeming to take turns leading the team in scoring on any given night — senior Avery Havelka, junior Madeline Newark, sophomore Jill Frazier and freshman Kaitlyn Nease.

“I love that our scoring is so balanced,” Zitner said. “I think it creates more of a team culture when everyone feels like they can contribute.”

Defense has also been a big part of the early success for Burgettstown.

The Blue Devils are allowing an average of 37.8 points, which is the top defense in Section 3-2A and one of the top defenses in the classification.

“We stress defense every practice,” Zitner said. “We try to instill a defensive mindset. It’s definitely a work in progress. We have some young players still learning the system, and it will take time, but they’ve done well adjusting.

“We’re always looking for ways to tweak it and make it better, but it’s definitely gotten a little better each day.”

All four of Burgettstown’s win have come since the season resumed Jan. 8. Zitner said she is proud of how her team has responded to the additional hurdles everybody is dealing with this season.

“I think the biggest obstacle to overcome in trying to play during a pandemic is just the unknown,” she said. “Anyone can get shut down at any moment, and you go day to day not knowing whether you’ll play or not. We’re doing our best to adhere to all the rules and policies in place. I hope these kids and all teams get as normal of a season as possible.”

A six-game winning streak at the end of the regular season last year helped Burgettstown win 16 games.

Zitner likes how this team is building off the success from a year ago.

“I’m most pleased with how quickly we’ve aligned and meshed as a team,” she said. “We had two starters graduate last year, so I assumed it would take more time to get into a rhythm, but they’ve done a great job and are working together well. Of course, we have a lot of things to improve on still and I’m excited to get to work on those. I don’t know that I can pinpoint one area. There’s room for improvement all around.

“I’m so glad we’ve been able to build off of the success we enjoyed last season. It’s given them confidence and ambition for the future.”

Tags: Burgettstown