Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Matthews makes a good point for Yough

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023 | 11:01 AM

One of the first things new Yough girls coach Brian Znavor did when he joined the team was move senior Autumn Matthews to point guard.

Matthews had played two-guard and forward in the past, so the switch was big.

The 5-foot-10 Matthews played AAU in the past, but even at that level did not play the point.

“I am handling the ball a lot more,” said Matthews, who has interest from several Division III colleges, including Bethany, Geneva, Chatham and Pitt-Greensburg. “It’s a huge change. I am outside now full time. I never thought I’d be bringing the ball down.”

Matthews was averaging close to a double-double in the team’s first four games.

Yough started 3-0 before a 32-28 loss to Mt. Pleasant.

Road trips

Norwin and Greensburg Central Catholic are expected to push for WPIAL and PIAA championships later this season.

The teams, which started the season ranked No. 2 in the WPIAL — Norwin in Class 6A, GCC in 2A — already are getting used to making road trips.

Both are sharpening their skills against out-of-state opponents.

Norwin opened the season at the Wheeling (W.Va.) tournament and last week traveled east to play another perennial playoff team in Spring-Ford at the State College tournament.

Norwin (4-1) lost to Spring-Ford, 51-46.

Greensburg Central Catholic (2-1) last week played in the She Got Game Classic in Washington, D.C. GCC lost to Baltimore Polytechnic School, 49-38.

P-T racks up 92

Penn-Trafford rode a hot start and equally hot shooting night to a 92-point outburst against Woodland Hills on Monday.

The Warriors scored 62 in the first half, including 32 in the first quarter when they opened with a 21-0 run. Torrie DeStefano had a team-high 20 points, all before halftime, for Penn-Trafford.

Woodland Hills, which got 35 points from Jhalynn Wilson, was missing three starters.

Section play opens

Section play will tip off Thursday around the WPIAL.

In Section 1-5A, Woodland Hills will visit Franklin Regional and Oakland Catholic plays at Latrobe. Penn-Trafford travels to Connellsville in Section 3-5A.

In 4A, Greensburg Salem visits Derry (Section 1), and West Mifflin plays at Belle Vernon (Section 3).

Greensburg Central Catholic is home against Ellis School in Section 3-2A.

Layups

Three county teams were seeking their first win going into the week: Franklin Regional (0-3), Southmoreland (0-3) and Valley (0-5). … Greensburg Salem was allowing just 23.3 points, the lowest defensive average in Class 4A. … Caroline Lee pulled down 17 rebounds, and Saylor Lee grabbed 11 as Belle Vernon edged past Charleroi, 44-43, on Monday. … Franklin Regional plays at Plum on Monday. Franklin Regional coach Bernie Pucka is a teacher at Plum.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Yough