Trib HSSN basketball team of the week – Trinity Hillers girls

Coach – Bill Poletti (second season)

Record – 8-4 and third place in Section 4-5A, 19-8 overall

#Earned – Trinity second-year coach Bill Poletti played for Tim McConnell and helped win a WPIAL championship at Chartiers Valley 22 years ago.

For five years, he was as assistant coach under Kathy McConnell-Miler at Trinity, helping the team win several section crowns.

With plenty of rub from the first family of WPIAL basketball, Poletti knows what it takes to win, and he has brought that to the Hillers.

Last year was a rare miss of the postseason for a young Trinity squad that ended up in fifth place in Section 3-5A, one game out of a playoff berth, but the team had a winning record at 12-9.

With all their starters back, the Hillers started this season with five straight wins. They later began 2026 with five consecutive wins and finished in third place in the section.

The return to the postseason began with a hard-fought road victory at West Allegheny, 50-48.

That set up a quarterfinal matchup against the top seed and the No. 1 team in the state in South Fayette.

The Hillers never blinked in throwing a big-time scare into the district’s top girls team before the Lions survived, 26-23.

A consolation loss to Baldwin followed, but a funk-shaking victory over Fox Chapel was much needed for the Hillers to prepare for the state postseason.

In the first round Saturday, Trinity faced another Western Pa. powerhouse in District 6 champion Hollidaysburg.

The Hillers outscored the Golden Tigers in each quarter, slowly building a lead that eventually became a 10-point victory, 39-29.

Another champion is up next for Trinity as it battles District 3 winner York Suburban (23-2) at Altoona on Wednesday.

Odds are pretty good this scrappy group of Hillers will have plenty of fight for the Trojans.

Scoring Stars – Junior Sutton Williamson, the cousin of Trinity football, basketball and baseball standout Jonah Williamson, led the Hillers in scoring. She has averaged 15 points per game as Trinity is one win shy of 20 victories for the season.

In the victory over Hollidaysburg, Williamson scored 13 points, but she wasn’t the leading scorer against the Golden Tigers. That honor went to junior Vitt Emerich, who pumped in 17 points.

In the consolation win over Fox Chapel, sophomore Gabbie Humphreys was tops on the Hillers scorers sheet with 19 points.

Those three along with seniors Kimari Behrens, Bently Layhue and junior Gabby Rieg and others have played a big part in the Hillers’ success this season with even more expectations heading into the 2026-2027 campaign.

2026 Trib HSSN Basketball Teams of the Week

Week 7 – Upper St. Clair Panthers boys

Week 7 – Canon-McMillan Big Macs girls

Week 6 – South Allegheny Gladiators

Week 5 – Fox Chapel Foxes girls

Week 4 – Quaker Valley Quakers boys

Week 3 – Belle Vernon Leopards girls

Week 2 – Beaver Falls Tigers girls

Week 1 – Knoch Knights boys