Jeannette coach Jenna Lusby has come to terms with her team’s style of play.
It is fast paced with erratic moments, but it has been working.
Lusby often calls the style “chaotic.”
“We celebrated the new year, now we’re moving the ball,” Lusby said, referring to a more stagnant offense earlier in the season. “We’re sharing the ball and moving well. We’re high-wired and high-strung. I get that. I have to know when to contain them and when to let them go.”
Playoff-bound Jeannette (13-6, 4-4 Section 4-2A) is having its best season in years. The team has not won 13 games in a season since 2012-13 when the Jayhawks made the WPIAL semifinals.
This year’s team is led by senior Navarah Smith, who is averaging 19 points.
Smith did not play as a freshman and played only seven games as a sophomore, so her development has been a work in progress for Lusby, too.
Jeannette could be coming into its own as a player and coach find harmony.
“The thing with Navarah and I is that we have developed a good relationship,” Lusby said. “We listen to each other and respect each other.
“We can be chaotic. We’re still learning about time of possession and dealing with the clock instead of going 100 mph every time down the court. Everyone is learning.”
Playoff teams
Eight girls teams from Westmoreland County have secured WPIAL playoff spots: Norwin in Class 6A; Penn-Trafford and Latrobe in 5A; Burrell and Belle Vernon in 4A; Greensburg Central Catholic in 3A; Jeannette in 2A; and Monessen in A.
Hempfield (6A), Franklin Regional and Kiski Area (5A), Mt. Pleasant (4A) and Ligonier Valley (3A) are on the bubble with one night of section play remaining.
Hempfield clinches with a win over Norwin or a Mt. Lebanon loss to Upper St. Clair. The winner of Shaler-Franklin Regional goes to the playoffs.
GCC is in the playoffs for the 45th time in 46 years. The Centurions only missed the tournament once, in 2000.
Record breaker
Ligonier Valley senior guard Adleigh Myers made program history Monday night in a home victory over East Allegheny.
Myers, a 5-foot-7 guard, poured in 40 points to break the program’s single-game scoring mark.
Who held the previous record? None other than her head coach, Christy (Clark) Hajjar, who scored 38 in a game in 1991.
Myers made eight 2-pointers, four 3-pointers and 12 of 14 free throws in a 49-14 win.
Hajjar said she noticed Myers was on track for the record at halftime.
“I talked with the other coaches, and we agreed to not mention anything to her yet,” Hajjar said. “We simply told her to keep firing away and see where she ended. We waited until the end of the third when she was at 32 points to let her know she needed seven to beat the record. She of course, was excited. But it was just incredible to see how much all of her teammates, especially those on the floor, supported her effort.
“It’s just an amazing feeling to have the opportunity to coach a player into beating your own record. What more could a coach want?”
Hajjar said Myers has worked to improve her outside shooting.
“As a team, we chose to make penetration and creating our own shots a focus,” the coach said. “Adleigh really committed to this philosophy and has seen a lot growth in the area. We knew this would also get her to the foul line, and foul shots have been something she has been working hard to develop consistency with.”
Making the cut
Penn-Trafford played a doubleheader with the boys Tuesday night, so the Lady Warriors couldn’t cut down the nets when they won a share of the Section 1-5A title.
They defeated Kiski Area, 56-40, to secure back-to-back titles. But they had to hold the scissors for now.
“We will probably cut them down later,” first-year coach Chuck Fontana said. “We want to win it outright, anyways. That’s how it should be.”
Penn-Trafford likes to win section titles in pairs. It has seven section titles in program history, with six coming in back-to-back years: 2010-11, ‘11-12, ’13-14, ‘14-15, ‘24-25 and ‘25-26.
The other title was in 1974.
Royal family
Belle Vernon captured its first section title since 1999 with a 58-26 win over Mt. Pleasant.
Freshman guard Lyla McConnell has played a key role in the Leopards’ title run and 12-game winning streak.
Yes, she is from that McConnell family.
Legendary WNBA player, Olympian and coach Susie McConnell-Serio is her great aunt, championship coach Tim McConnell her great uncle and Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell her second cousin.