Valley News Dispatch Girls Basketball Player of the Year
Riley Stephans
5-8, Sr., G, Plum
Riley Stephans took the ball near midcourt, dribbled a few times and then unleashed a shot from 3-point range.
The bank was open for business, and the ball went in.
Plum beat Freeport at the buzzer 49-48. Stephans, playing her first varsity game for the Mustangs, was cool under pressure.
She would go on to have many more clutch moments. Many high-scoring games. Many more victories with her Plum teammates.
This year, as a senior, she took the next step in her basketball evolution and excelled throughout, helping Plum capture its first section championship and earn another trip to the WPIAL playoffs.
“I came in focused to do whatever I could to make my season and the team’s season the best it could,” Stephans said. “I worked hard on my shooting form and my defense. I just kept the things I worked on with my former coach, Jeremiah. I kept a lot of the things he said in the back of my mind. I just kept shooting and kept working, and it paid off.”
Stephans averaged 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists a game for a Mustangs team which finished 18-5 overall and 10-2 in Section 1-5A.
She also surpassed 1,000 career points at the end of the regular season.
For all that she accomplished in her final varsity season, Stephans has been named the Valley News Dispatch Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Stephans went over 1,000 on a banked-in 3-pointer in the third quarter of a close 54-52 victory over Section 2-5A co-champion Penn-Trafford on Jan. 28.
She scored a game-best 31 points.
“That was one of the biggest milestones I’ve ever hit,” Stephans said.
“It brought me so much joy and confidence. I had my mind set on that since eighth grade. It was a special feeling to celebrate that with my teammates, coaches, friends and family. On top of that, we got a big victory against a really good team. That was a total team win for us.”
Five days later, Plum defeated Gateway, 55-31, at home to clinch the outright section crown.
“The first time we played Gateway, we didn’t play our best,” Stephans said. “We knew that we couldn’t take Gateway lightly going into the second game. We went in with the right mindset and a clear goal in mind to wrap up the title.
“Clinching that section title was such a special moment because we all worked so hard as a team for it. It is something I will never forget. That will be something we will have forever.”
Plum saw its season end with a 56-46 loss to Peters Township in the WPIAL Class 5A first round.
“It was pretty frustrating,” Stephans said. “Peters Township is a very good team, but we also didn’t play our best game.”
Stephens went on a scoring tear to start the new year with several games where she surpassed 25 points. She said it clicked for her at the holiday tournament at Shady Side Academy.
She scored 35 points with six 3-pointers in a high-scoring, four-point loss to Section 1-6A champion Pine-Richland. The next day, she scored 24 in a win over Woodland Hills that sparked an 11-game win streak.
“That game against Pine-Richland gave me so much more confidence and showed me what I could do for my team,” she said. “I just kept going from there.”
As much as Stephans looked to score, the desire, she said, was to get her teammates involved as much as possible in the pursuit of victories.
“We all had confidence in each other. The chemistry kept growing throughout the season, and it really showed on the court,” Stephans said.
Stephans said she didn’t touch a basketball from the playoff loss to Peters Township until Thursday’s practice session at Highlands High School for Saturday’s Cager Classic all-star game.
She also has transitioned to the outdoors with the Plum softball team in its pursuit of a trip to the WPIAL playoffs.
“It was sad when the basketball season ended, but I also knew that I had a whole softball season left,” Stephans said. “That did pick up my spirits. I did take a week off to heal my body, and then I was ready to go.”
First team all-stars
Bella Bartolovic
5-4, So., G, St. Joseph
There was no sophomore slump for Bartolovic, who was a core contributor to youthful St. Joseph’s run to another WPIAL playoff spot out of a challenging Section 1-1A and a fifth straight berth in the PIAA playoffs. She averaged 18.7 points, sank 30 3-pointers and shot 84.6% (154 for 182) from the free-throw line. Bartolovic capped her season with 19 points in a PIAA first-round loss to District 9 champion Clarion-Limestone.
Isabel Chaparro
5-9, Sr., G, Riverview
Knee and ankle injuries derailed the Raiders standout’s final quarter of the season, but before that, she was delivering the goods for an improved Riverview team that put itself in position to earn a spot in the WPIAL playoffs. A heart-and-soul player for the Raiders at both ends of the court, Chaparro averaged 23.2 points over her 16 games played and contributed three steals a contest. She will continue her career at Mary Washington, a Division III school in Virginia.
Chase Coury
5-4, Fr., G, Burrell
No matter where she was on the court, Coury shined in her breakout season with the Bucs. Whether it was a mid-range jumper, a shot closer to the basket or one unleashed from long range, Coury’s scoring helped put Burrell in position to win games, challenge the top teams in Section 1-4A and solidify its spot in the WPIAL playoffs. Coury finished as the team leader in scoring at 15 points a game while averaging three assists and three steals.
Lyla Jablon
5-4, Sr., G, Fox Chapel
Jablon was a veteran presence for the Foxes in their late-season surge to the WPIAL playoffs and berth in the PIAA tournament. A second-team VND pick last year, Jablon was a featured scorer in the guard-oriented offense, averaging 16.8 points. She also was selected to the Section 1-5A first team. Jablon will play in college at Division III Case Western Reserve.
Tamia West
5-9, Jr., G, Plum
West took another big step forward in her basketball evolution this year. Her quickness to the basket, shooting and defense were just some of the attributes that helped her guide Plum to the program’s first section championship and another WPIAL playoff appearance. The Section 1-5A first-team all-star averaged 14 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists a contest. West also was a VND first-team pick last year.
Second team
Casey Brancato
5-11, Sr., G/F, Burrell
Kasey Cienik
5-10, Sr., G/F, St. Joseph
Gianna DeVito
5-11, Sr., F, Kiski Area
Madison Hughley
5-9, So., G, Apollo-Ridge
Nina Kulikowski
5-9, So., G, Fox Chapel
Third team
Jada Blanciak
5-11, Jr., F, Kiski Area
Nia DiSanti
5-9, Sr., G, Freeport
Mikaila Ditty
5-7, So., F, Apollo-Ridge
Josie Farster
5-8, Jr., F/G, Deer Lakes
Neah Ewing
5-8, Sr., G, Knoch
Honorable mention
Delaney DeRose, 5-6, So., G, Deer Lakes; Lauren Gamble, 5-3, Jr., G, Apollo-Ridge; Tori Glogowski, 5-6, Fr., G, Plum; Blake Huffman, 5-9, Jr., F, Riverview; Hayven Lookabaugh, 5-6, Sr., G, Leechburg; Emily McKee, 5-4, Jr., G, Fox Chapel; McKenna Miller, 5-7, Jr., G, Burrell; Sydney Reiser, 5-6, Fr., G, Freeport; Maggie Simonetti, 5-5, Sr., G/F, Springdale; Jocelyn Spinelli, 5-3, Jr., G, St. Joseph; Addie Zanotto, 5-5, Sr., F, Leechburg.