Everyone wary of Lady Mustangs now
No one saw it coming.
Laurel Highlands’ girls basketball team took the WPIAL by storm a season ago, rolling into the final four for just the second time in school history, notching its first PIAA win and ending the season with a sparkling 21-5 overall record.
Sure the Lady Mustangs had taken a big step up the previous season in Stewart Davis’ first year as coach when they went 12-12 during the regular season and lost a playoff game to Highlands.
A nine-win improvement and three postseason victories seemed like a longshot, though, for a team with a small roster and thin bench, but that’s exactly what LH did.
There won’t be any sneaking up on teams this year, however.
“We’ve got a big bullseye on our back now,” said third-year coach Davis who lost no players to graduation.
Davis actually felt his squad could’ve done better last season.
“I thought last year we had opportunities to win that last game,” Davis said of a 45-36 loss to Fairview in the PIAA second round when LH built a big early lead. “I think we just ran out of gas.
“So this year the offseason was very important. They hit some camps up. I kept the girls busy in the weight room and running, and helped them learn that it takes a lot more, you can’t just take the offseason off and then show up and think you’re ready.”
Now Davis has to make sure his players don’t read their own clippings and lose the laser-like focus they had a year ago.
“Being in Fayette County, you only have so many schools and the community is basketball heavy,” Davis said. “You’ve got the student body and all these other people telling them how good they’re going to be, so it takes some humbleness.
“They took some humble pie coming in here being a little lethargic at the beginning. You’ve just got to get after them a little bit, push them, and I think they’re at a point where they’re starting to gel in practice and they’re loving the process of working harder.
“As long as we stay connected as we did in the summer – we played some tough teams, Wheeling Park, Wheeling Central, Norwin – I expect us to have a fairly good season. But we’re obviously going to concentrate on one game at a time.”
The Lady Mustangs’ trademark was a harassing defense a year ago and that won’t change with all five starters coming back.
“Our returning starting seniors will be Miya Harris and Aryianna Sumpter,” Davis said. “Sumpter led us in scoring last year. She was definitely our motor, offensively. Miya, a good shooter ball handler, will follow up behind her. She had some really big games in the playoffs for us.
“Who carries us is Aierra Jenkins. She’s a junior who worked all summer and played AAU along with Sumpter. She’s been in the gym constantly. She’s gone to trainers, she’s been here with me everyday. She’s probably been working out twice a day in the summer so she’s coming back a little different.”
Rounding out the starting five are a pair of solid sophomores.
“Our other two starters are the two Taylors, Taylor Schwertfeger and Taylor Irwin,” Davis said. “Schwertfeger did a heck of a job defensively last year as a freshman, and she worked on her shot, she worked on her ball handling so she should bring more of a skill set offensively this year.
“Irwin surprised teams last year with her jump shot. She hit some big ones in the playoffs. She is stronger. She worked in the weight room and was on the soccer team so she’s used to contact and defensively she’s moving her feet better.”
The top player off the bench will again be Righteous Richardson, the third senior on the team.
“Righteous worked all summer as well. She was locked in,” Davis said. “She gave me valuable minutes defensively but she comes in this year with a little more confidence in her offensive game.”
Rounding out the 10-player roster are junior transfer Madison Brooks, sophomores Isabella Paschke and Lola Mikluscak and freshman Chloe Price.
“Righteous will be the first one off the bench but I hope to maybe go seven or eight deep this season,” Davis said. “Last year we ran out of gas so this year we need to find some minutes from a few other girls.”
The Lady Mustangs are again in a slightly altered Section 3-AAAA where they finished second last year. Back are section champion Elizabeth Forward, which handed LH three of its five losses, including one in a postseason state placement game, along with Belle Vernon, Ringgold and Southmoreland. Gone are Unionitown and West Mifflin with South Park, Mount Pleasant and Yough coming in.
“Obviously the top dog is still EF,” Davis said. “They won it last year and the previous year so we’ve still got to go through them.”
The Lady Mustangs and Lady Warriors both made the WPIAL semifinals last season. Laurel Highlands blasted Quaker Valley, 65-29, and upended Highlands, 45-33, before falling to eventual PIAA champion Blackhawk, 51-32. LH defeated Johnstown, 51-48, in the first round of the state tournament for its landmark win.
Davis has three assistant coaches that he relies on.
“My top assistant is John Robinson who’s been with the program for some time now,” Davis said. “I also have Ryan Schwertfeger and Mike Irwin. We’ve got a good core of coaches. We bounce off each other well.”