Laurel Highlands girls preview: Fillies have turned around fortunes quickly under Davis
Stewart Davis had an immediate positive impact when he moved over from the Brownsville boys program to take over the head coaching job of the Laurel Highlands girls last year.
Davis guided the Fillies to an 11-11 record in the regular season and they earned a fourth-place finish and a playoff spot with a 6-6 mark in Section 3-AAAA. Laurel Highlands fell in the first round of the playoffs to a Highlands team that reached the WPIAL final four and qualified for the PIAA tournament.
Laurel Highlands had accumulated only a combined five wins in the three seasons before Davis came on board.
This season also began well as the Fillies opened with wins over Allderdice, 52-36, Franklin Regional, 50-38, and Brownsville, 57-33.
“Franklin Regional is a 5A program who made the playoffs last year and have three starters returning,” Davis pointed out. “I think everyone had us counted out in that game and we probably shocked some people winning that one.”
Laurel Highlands lost senior starters Essence Davis – the coach’s daughter – and Alessandra Peccon to graduation.
“We’re young again this year,” Davis said. “I’m starting two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman. We were a little seasoned last year because we had two seniors that battled all four years.
“I have five returning players and I have three starters that played underneath me last year. They learned what my expectations are and they became leaders this year for the younger girls coming up. They’re pretty much standing on leadership and holding each other accountable, which is what you want in your program.
“Being that they’re young, I got them again next year, which is a good thing.”
The three returning starters are juniors Miya Harris and Ayrianna Sumpter and sophomore Aierra Jenkins, and that trio will be counted on to provide most of LH’s offensive punch.
“Harris is the best shooter on the team and she runs my point,” Davis said. “Sumpter changed positions from last year. She was playing guard because I had Essence as a forward. But this year she has to play forward, in the post. She’s a great rebounder and she can step out, handle the ball and shoot the threes, so she causes mismatches all over the floor. Jenkins is a guard/forward and she’ll also be counted on to be one of our scorers.”
Filling out the starting five are freshman guard Taylor Schwertfeger and sophomore guard/forward Taylor Irwin.
“Irwin has a little bit of experience,” Davis said. “She played in the last two games and did really well against Ringgold and she played against Highlands in the playoffs. She worked a good bit in the summer and she came ready to play.”
Completing the eight-man roster are junior Righteous Richardson and freshmen Lola Mikluscak and Isabella Paschke.
“Righteous is a junior and the first one off the bench in my six-man rotation,” Davis said. “Lola and Isabella are new and they’re growing within the team. By midseason I’m hoping to get one or both of them to where they can regularly come off the bench. Right now they’re still learning but I tell them to stay ready because any given night, if we get in foul trouble, I might have to call on them to give me some minutes.”
The Fillies like to run on offense and, due to their smaller roster, rely mostly on a zone defense, according to Davis.
“We normally sit back in a zone, just try to pack it in to limit getting in foul trouble, but if we get down then we’ll jump into man when we have to,” Davis said. “We’ll use a matchup zone at times and extend out a little more.
“We’re a transition team on offense. When we get it off the glass we like to push the ball. We love when teams want to press us because it plays into what we want to do.”
Davis liked what he saw early in the season.
“I think overall this year my team is very disciplined,” Davis said. “This is my second year and those who were with me last year understand the style we play and the flow of the game.”
The Fillies will again play in Section 3-AAA which also includes Elizabeth Forward, Belle Vernon, West Mifflin, Southmoreland, Uniontown and Ringgold.
“I know EF is returning everybody but still, our goal is to fight for that section,” Davis said.
Davis is assisted by John Robinson, Ryan Schwertfeger and Mike Irwin.