North Catholic injuries not reflected in record

North Catholic will have its full lineup on the floor at some point this season.

Just not yet.

“I think we had everyone healthy one game this season,” North Catholic coach Molly Rottman said. “If we get everyone together, I’m excited because people are getting different opportunities which will, in the long run, make us deeper.”

Akron recruit Dacia Lewandowski is just the latest to go through what has become a series of nagging injuries to the Trojanettes’ lineup. Lewandowski suffered a severe ankle sprain in a 49-17 win against Seneca Valley on Dec. 22 and ended up in a walking boot.

“We’re hoping to have her back in the next week or so,” Rottman said.

Losing a senior and Division I recruit could have dragged most teams down, but not North Catholic. The Trojanettes lost their first game after her injury to Class 6A No. 1 Norwin, but have reeled off five consecutive victories and remain in first place in Class 4A Section 1.

It helps that North Catholic has another Division I player in junior Alayna Rocco, who has verbally committed to Harvard. She’s also taken on a new role with all the injuries around her and is averaging 17 points a game.

“We’re asking her to defend one of the better players on the other team as well as give us a lot of offensive output,” Rottman said. “She’s just elevated her game. Her role needed to increase and she’s done a great job in doing that.”

Even with the injuries, North Catholic has gotten some good news on that front as sophomore Sarah Loughry and junior Ava Walker recovered more quickly than expected from torn anterior cruciate ligaments.

“That takes some time and transition, and I feel they are way ahead of where I’d anticipated them to be,” Rottman said.

Even with the perpetually shifting lineup, North Catholic (11-3, 6-0) remains the No. 2 ranked team in the classification behind undefeated Blackhawk (13-0, 5-0). The loss to Norwin was the only defeat the Trojanettes suffered against a Pennsylvania foe. Their other two defeats came in the She Got Game Classic in Washington, D.C.

Another level to climb

Neshannock coach Luann Grybowsski won more than 700 games before she finally won a state championship.

Winning the title is one thing, but staying at the top has been somewhat problematic to this point.

“We had great numbers,” Grybowski said, “but I have a number of injuries. Minutes hurt us and we haven’t found a defensive identity and presses have bothered us.”

Neshannock played in the PIAA Class 2A championship game in 2021 and lost to Mount Carmel, 54-43. The Lancers made a return trip to the Giant Center in Hershey in 2022, where they took the crown in a 62-56 decision against Southern Columbia.

Because of the success the team had the last two years, coupled with the fact the school had a transfer, Neshannock was moved up to Class 3A under the PIAA competitive-balance rule. It’s a decision that rankled Grybowski at the time and continues to do so.

“I wasn’t really happy with the bump-up because you punish us for being runner-up and state champs,” Grybowski said. “We did have a transfer, but she decided not to play this year. We’re being punished and the reason we’re being punished isn’t there.”

Neshannock (9-5, 4-1) is currently the Post-Gazette No. 3-ranked WPIAL Class 3A school and is second in Section 1 behind No. 2 Laurel (13-1, 5-0). The Lancers have already lost as many games this season as they have in the previous two combined when they went 48-5 in their two state finals runs.

It’s not just the move up that has hurt Neshannock. Because of injuries and inexperience, the Lancers have had to move 6-foot-1 first-team all-state senior guard/​forward Mairan Haggerty into the low post.

Although she is averaging more than three points more per game (20.4 to 17.1), she’s also taking more shots as well as running the point on press-breakers, instead of being the tall outlet at midcourt. Haggerty has also had to play a little more tentatively than she may have in the past, given what happened against Laurel, a 59-35 loss, when she was in foul trouble.

She is the only player on the team averaging more than 15 points per game.

“Without her, we’re really inexperienced,” Grybowski said. “The move up has been difficult in more than one way.”

Yet despite the lack of experience and the jump in classification, Neshannock remains a contenders for the WPIAL title.

“The first thing I tell them is that we have to take care of the basketball because, in our five losses, we have 100 turnovers,” Grybowski said. “We lost games in (single digits) and we’re committing 20 turnovers a game and we’re giving up 12-14 points off those turnovers. That’s the difference between being undefeated and where we are now.”

One to watch

In what could be a preview of the WPIAL Class 5A championship — or at least a serious claim on the top seed in the tournament — No. 3 McKeesport (12-1) travels to No. 1 South Fayette (13-2) Thursday. They last faced each other in the 2022 WPIAL Class 5A semifinals, a game in which the Lions pulled out a 51-48 victory en route to the title.

McKeesport was the No. 1-ranked team in Class 5A until losing to Oakland Catholic on Tuesday night. Oakland Catholic is now No. 2.

A tie at the top

Woodland Hills’ Hope Hawkins found herself in some rare company Sunday. In a 73-55 win vs. Beaver Falls at the MLK Classic, she scored 33 points to tie Yolanda Johnson’s single-game school record set in 1997.