Laurel riding youth movement
It wasn’t long ago that simply qualifying for the playoffs was cause for celebration for Laurel’s girls basketball team.
The way the Spartans have been playing lately, though, it might not be long until their new motto is “championship or bust.”
After following up their first section title in school history in 2019 with their first WPIAL championship game appearance in 2020, Laurel bumped up to Class 3A for the 2021-22 cycle and joined arguably the most loaded section in the WPIAL. So far, the step up in competition hasn’t slowed down the Spartans, who started the season 4-0 before losing their first game of the season to defending WPIAL Class 3A champion Mohawk on Monday night.
“How about this? The [Class] 1A winner [Rochester] and [Class] 2A winner [Bishop Canevin] are in the same section, and the [Class] 3A winner [Mohawk] and [Class] 4A winner [North Catholic] and the [Class] 2A runner-up [Laurel] are all in the same section. It’s crazy,” said Laurel coach Matt Stebbins.
In its toughest test of the season so far against the Warriors, Class 3A No. 3 Laurel took a 40-35 lead into the fourth quarter before No. 1 Mohawk stormed back to win, 62-51. Unlike the Spartans, the Warriors have a team filled with juniors and seniors with plenty of biggame experience. And while many of Laurel’s players were a part of last year’s playoff run, only one player — junior guard Lucia Lombardo — has been with the team for more than a year.
“We’re excited for the challenge,” Stebbins said. “We’re still a young team. We start four sophomores and one junior. No seniors on the roster. … In this juggernaut of a section, it is tough.”
Leading the way for the Spartans is 5-9 sophomore guard Regan Atkins, an allsection selection as a freshman after averaging 12.6 points per game in 2019-20. Atkins has raised her season average to 14.8 points per game going into the week, and 5-11 sophomore forward Reese Bintrim isn’t far behind her with an average of 13 points per game.
With such a young team made up of three freshmen, seven sophomores and only one junior, Laurel is undoubtedly set up for success in the coming years. Still, after coming so close to capturing the first WPIAL championship in school history last season, the Spartans aren’t satisfied with simply building toward the future — they’re ready to win now.
“This group is hungry,” Stebbins said. “We’re seeing girls step up in leadership roles that have never been in those roles before. Just seeing these girls truly, truly grow — they want it.”
While Laurel has already gotten its first taste of competition against the No. 1 team in Class 3A, the Spartans will also have to contend with four-time defending WPIAL Class 4A champion North Catholic, which has dropped down to Class 3A Section 1 for the current two-year cycle. Stebbins and his players are well aware of the competition that awaits them, but they surely aren’t shying away from the challenge.
“It doesn’t happen overnight, but we’ve been slowly building,” Stebbins said. “It’s been progressing, and it’s been awesome to see this program grow and flourish.”
Penn-Trafford
In a battle of unbeatens in Class 6A Section 1, PennTrafford kept its perfect record intact with a 50-46 home win vs. then-No. 5 Norwin. The Warriors are now off to their best start since the 2012-13 season.
Penn-Trafford received a clutch performance from freshman Olivia Pepple, who scored a game-high 19 points and went 7 for 7 from the freethrow line in the win. Pepple knocked down a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining to put the game out of reach and clinch the win for the Warriors.
OLSH
With the heaps of praise and accolades that are routinely showered upon OLSH’s powerhouse boys basketball team, the Chargers’ girls program often gets overshadowed by its male counterparts. Still, coach Don Eckerle’s team is in the midst of a lengthy run of success in its own right.
Only two years removed from winning a WPIAL title and riding a streak of six consecutive seasons with at least 18 wins, OLSH appears well on its way to competing for a fourth consecutive section title. The Chargers improved to 5-0 on Monday night with a 49-43 victory against then-No. 4 Sewickley Academy.
Beaver
For the second time this year, Class 4A No. 1 Beaver flexed its muscles on defense and held an opponent to less than 10 points for an entire game.
The Bobcats, who opened their season with a lopsided 58-6 win against Class 6A opponent North Hills on Dec. 11, improved to 5-0 on Monday night with a 53-9 win vs. Central Valley. Beaver held the Warriors scoreless in both the first quarter and the third quarter en route to the commanding victory.