Hoops headlines: Lady Pioneers fall, Rockets rally, McIntire stays hot
Waynesburg Central’s Darton McIntire passes the ball against Belle Vernon on Dec. 23. McIntire is one of the WPIAL’s leading scorers at 25.5 points per game. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)
Jefferson-Morgan’s Josh Clites dribbles between California defenders during their game at California High School on Dec. 15. The Rockets had fallen to the Trojans three times this season, the previous two by a combined 61 points, and trailed in their fourth meeting last Friday by 19 at halftime. The fourth time proved to be the charm for J-M, however, as it stormed back for a stunning 66-63 victory. (Photo by Lori Padilla)
As most basketball teams in Greene County are nearing or already past the midway point of their respective section schedules, the action is definitely heating up on the hardwood.
Playoffs are only two and half weeks away, as most teams will end the regular season on Feb. 12.
Here are a couple of headlines within the county lines this week.
Lady Pioneers suffers first loss
The West Greene girls’ basketball team was the last county squad to be undefeated before suffering a 62-38 setback to non-section foe Winchester Thurston on the road last Friday.
The Lady Pioneers have had trouble with the Lady Bears recently, as West Greene lost to Winchester Thurston twice last year, 58-42 during the regular season and 55-50 in the WPIAL Class A semifinals. The Lady Bears then went on to beat Cornell in the WPIAL final, 58-42.
“That team is just full of athletes,” Said West Greene coach Jordan Watson about Winchester Thurston before entering last Friday’s game. “They have probably three potential Division-I prospects and they just know how to score. In order to beat that team we have to play a complete game. We have to get turnovers off of our press and play with a faster, chaotic tempo.”
West Greene rebounded on Monday with a 68-27 triumph over Jefferson-Morgan to push its overall record to 14-1 and its Section 2-A mark to 6-0.
Prior to their games against Mapletown on Thursday and Bentworth tonight, the Lady Pioneers had the second highest scoring offense in all of the WPIAL with 64.4 points per game, and were the top ranked scoring defense in all of District 7, allowing just 27.3 points per game.
Second-half surge lifts Rockets
Last Friday, the Jefferson-Morgan boys’ basketball team trailed 37-18 at halftime to Section 2-AA foe California, but the Rockets regrouped to pull out a 66-63 victory for their first section win of the season.
J-M used a 19-10 scoring edge in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 47-37 after three quarters, and then carried the play in the final eight minutes with a 29-15 scoring advantage.
Senior Jalen Torres was the key catalyst for the Rockets with 30 points and five 3-pointers.
“Jalen is a special player,” said J-M coach Dennis Garrett recently after a 51-35 win over West Greene. “Our team goes as he goes. When he is not scoring and hitting his shots, our offense is not as potent. I think Jalen rededicated himself over the winter break to the team and to the sport.”
DL Garrett and Devin Stoneking also aided the offense with 13 points apiece.
After a 61-43 loss to Bentworth on Tuesday, J-M will host two critical section games over the weekend against Frazier tonight at 7:30 p.m. and Carmichaels on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Lady Maples hope to snap playoff drought
With still several Section 2-A games left, the Mapletown girls basketball team is currently in the thick of things for a playoff spot and are looking to end their postseason drought.
The last time the Lady Maples made the playoffs was in 2007-08.
Mapletown has picked up key wins over Monessen (34-23 on Jan. 11), Jefferson-Morgan (49-31 on Jan. 17) and Avella (46-40 on Jan. 18).
On offense, the Lady Maples have been led by a diverse group that includes senior guard Taylor Vanata, junior guard Abby Antill, junior forward Kelsi Smith and junior center Kayla Smith.
“As a new coach, I think it just took time for this team to jell,” Mapletown coach Steve McIntire said.
“I think on defense we are really in sync and I like the intensity these girls show on that end. I’m a defensive coach, so we always stress defense. I think our guard play has stepped up this last month.”
Mapletown picked up its biggest win of the season on Monday with a 34-33 triumph over Geibel. The Lady Maples led 11-4 at the end of one and carried a 16-11 lead into halftime.
The Lady Maples survived a late second-half push by the visitors, as Geibel carried the play in the second half with a 22-20 scoring edge. Kayla Smith scored a team-high 11 points for Mapletown.
Big Mac
Greene County is home to one of the top scorers in all of the WPIAL this season in senior guard Darton McIntire from Waynesburg Central.
McIntire has averaged 25.5 points per game leading into a home match-up versus Belle Vernon tonight at 7:30 p.m. He has led Waynesburg in scoring every game but one.
McIntire, who reached the 1,000-career-point mark earlier in the season, had back-to-back 31 point efforts against Elizabeth Forward last Friday (a 68-45 win) and versus Uniontown last Saturday (a 62-56 loss).
On Monday, McIntire poured in a season-high 40 points in an 87-86 overtime loss to South Park.