Trib HSSN girls basketball player of the week: Laurel’s Caroline Gibson

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, January 20, 2019 | 9:33 PM

Caroline Gibson

School: Laurel

Class: Senior

Class 2A girls basketball section leaders Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Serra Catholic and defending champion Bishop Canevin have garnered a lot of attention with their perfect records in section play.

But there are a group of teams quietly having strong seasons as they try to stay on the heels of those section leaders.

One of those teams flying under the radar, but sitting in second place in Section 1-2A with a 10-4 record, is Laurel.

The Spartans have won four straight, including wins last week on the road over Shenango and Northgate thanks to the play of Caroline Gibson, who is averaging more than 18 points per game.

“Caroline Gibson is an outstanding athlete,” said Laurel third-year coach Matthew Stebbins. “She had a great week on the road in two games.”

Gibson netted 29 points at Shenango and came back to score 30 in a win at Northgate.

“She got off to great starts in both games,” Stebbins explained. “She had 11 steals in the Northgate game. She plays on both ends of the floor very well.”

It is a young Laurel team as Gibson and Makenna Collins are the only two seniors.

“She is a great leader and captain,” said Stebbins. “The younger girls really feed off her energy.”

The final week of January will be a big one for the second-place Spartans. They will travel to first place Our Lady of the Sacred Heart on Jan. 28 followed by a home game Jan. 31 against third-place South Side.

Stebbins likes where his team is as they are in contention for the section title and hoping for a high seed come playoff time.

“We are taking the season one game at a time. Caroline is really hitting her stride.”

Honorable mention

MacKenzie Wagner, Chartiers Valley

In a week in which teammate Megan McConnell went over the 1,000-point plateau for her career, senior MacKenzie Wagner pumped in plenty of points to help keep Chartiers Valley undefeated. Wagner started the week by scoring 25 points in a victory at South Fayette. Then, on Wednesday, in a key Section 1-5A showdown, Wagner led the way with 23 points in a 68-50 win over second-place Thomas Jefferson. In limited action Friday, Wagner added 12 points in a 51-point win against Lincoln Park as the Colts improved to 16-0 overall.

Kennedie Montue, Plum

It has been an average season to this point for Plum as they sit 3-3 in Section 2-5A and 7-8 overall after a loss in the Martin Luther King Weekend Showcase at Woodland Hills. However the play of sophomore Kennedie Montue has been way above average. Montue scored 22 points on Tuesday in a 55-33 loss to defending 5A champion Gateway. She went off Friday for 37 points in a nonsection victory over Class A power Greensburg Central Catholic. A busy week concluded Saturday when Montue scored 20 points in a 64-51 loss to event host Woodland Hills.

Maura Huwalt, South Park

The Eagles are starting to fly high after a 2-0 week that has them riding a season high four-game winning streak. A young South Park team is being led by senior Maura Huwalt, who enjoyed another big week on the score sheet. In a big Monday section showdown at Seton LaSalle, Huwalt scored 22 points as the Eagles won 66-43 to move ahead of the Rebels in the Section 2-3A standings. On Thursday, Huwalt had a game high 26 points in a 45-point win at McGuffey that has the Eagles in a tie with Washington for the top spot with a 7-1 section mark.

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.

Tags: Laurel