Previewing high school girls basketball season in Westmoreland County:
5 players to watch
Aubrey Brown
So., F, Belle Vernon
Promising big with guard skills, the 6-1 Brown averaged 10.9 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.9 steals, 2.7 assists and 2.2 blocks, registering 10 double-doubles.
Torrie DeStefano
Sr., G, Penn-Trafford
Versatile backcourt leader for the Warriors averaged 11 points, 4 assists and 3.5 steals a game. Key player during 22-0 regular season.
Erica Gribble
Sr., G, Greensburg Central Catholic
Richmond commit and one of the WPIAL’s premier guards, she is the returning TribLive Westmoreland player of the year. She averaged 22.4 points as GCC won back-to-back WPIAL titles.
Maggie Maiers
Jr., F, Latrobe
An old-school post presence who can be effective on both ends of the floor, she averaged 14 points and 10.2 rebounds and looked comfortable as a starter.
Jayla Peterson
Sr., G, Greensburg Central Catholic
A Wheeling commit, she adds punch to a terrific – and experienced — backcourt alongside Gribble. Helped GCC win two straight titles, averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists last season.
5 teams to watch
Greensburg Central Catholic
Another championship season could be in store for the Centurions, who have been there and done that with the core of this group. They open the season No. 1 in Class 3A and will tip against Class 5A No. 5 South Fayette on Friday. Gribble and Peterson will make the team go on both ends of the floor, and the return of a healthy Abby Dlugos will be huge. A deep PIAA run could also be in the cards.
Greensburg Salem
A quick, guard-oriented team will rely on its defense again to win games. Mia Heasley spearheads a returning Class 5A playoff team, with Isabella Dinkel at point guard. Viebba Jevicky is a third returning starter.
Latrobe
A returning Class 5A playoff team also has returning talent in the 5-11 Maggie Maiers and guards Bri Havrilla and Miley Williams. The Wildcats should present a nice inside-outside game, which it will need in a tough section that includes Penn-Trafford and Indiana.
Norwin
A new cast of players must replace another proven group, but the fundamental principles of coach Brian Brozeski’s program remain intact. Team defense, ball movement and depth will once again fuel the new-look Knights, who will lean heavily on experienced guard Ava Christopher.
Penn-Trafford
A new coach (Chuck Fontana) won’t change much of what the old coach (John Giannikas) did, because it led to a 22-0 regular season last year. The Warriors, ranked No. 5 in 5A, will have quick, fundamentally solid guards, led by DeStefano, a Seton Hill commit who is equally imporant on both ends of the floor. Twins Olivia and Hannah Weishaar, Isabella Fontana and Raya Johnson are other backcourt players.
5 storylines
GCC for 3
No basketball team in Westmoreland County has won three straight WPIAL titles, but the Centurions have the talent to be the first.
The continued development of depth around Gribble and Peterson is important, as is how the Centurions compete outside of a top-heavy section that presents minimal challenges.
New coaches
Penn-Trafford, Derry and Southmoreland will open the season with new coaches.
Fontana was an assistant to Giannikas at Penn-Trafford, so he knows the system and is plenty familiar with the players.
Ron Moore has experience, having been the head coach at Washington, as he takes over Derry, which has had three coaches in three years.
And Barry Collins, who has coached at the junior high level at Southmoreland and been on varsity staffs, is primed for his first season as a varsity head coach. Derry plays at Southmoreland on Dec. 3.
2,000 watch
All eyes will be on Gribble as she marches toward records and a milestone.
The star point guard begins the season with 1,714 career points. She needs 12 points to break GCC’s girls scoring record (1,725 by Ashley Henderson) and 50 to top the boys’ and school record (1,751 by Franco Sebastiani). Both records were set in 2007.
To the milestone: Gribble needs 286 points for 2,000.
Only six girls have reached 2,000 career points in Westmoreland County history, the last of whom was Ciara Gregory of Jeannette in 2013.
Rivals play on
GCC and Shady Side Academy have blossomed into must-see section rivalry since the Centurions moved up to Class 3A because of the PIAA competitive balance formula.
Back-to-back PIAA semifinal trips, and transfers, pushed GCC up from 2A.
Last year, Shady Side Academy won both section matchups, 62-33 and 59-48, before GCC came up big in the second half to down the Bulldogs in the WPIAL championship game, 56-51.
Shady Side Academy brings back standout guard and Purdue Fort Wayne recruit Karis Thomas, guard Leah Buford and 6-2 forward and Chicago commit Cassie Sauer, who did not play in the WPIAL final because of injury.
Showcase circuit
A regular event has a new home gym. The Shootout at Saint Vincent, which used to be played at Seton Hill, will include a pair of local matchups to watch Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
On the former date, Bishop Guilfoyle will take on GCC at 4:30 p.m. On the latter, McKeesport plays Franklin Regional at the same time.
There are eight games spread over two days, six of them on the boys side.