Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Team of the Week for Feb. 1, 2021

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, January 31, 2021 | 9:02 PM

The Armstrong girls basketball program began its sixth season this year with an overall record of 56-55 in the regular season and 0-2 in the postseason.

However, the arrow is pointing skyward for this balanced group. Armstrong is in first place in Section 2-5A with a 5-0 record through January, much to the delight of the program’s only coach, Kirk Lorigan.

“The player’s commitment to each other has really been what we’re the most proud of. This team really enjoys one another and loves the game of basketball. They work hard, listen, execute and accept responsibility for individual and team performances both good and bad, in games and in practice.

“The girls also have set some goals as a team that they feel need to be areas of improvement, which is great because they made a list of a few things that they know they need to do better and have committed to one another to hold each other accountable, so that’s an exciting thing for a coach.”

Last week began with a big 31-28 section road win at Plum. Armstrong kept Mustangs senior Kennedie Montue in check with 12 points.

“There were three things that were keys to us winning the game on Tuesday,” Lorigan said. “Obviously we needed to focus on Kennedie. She’s a great player and has really hurt us in the past. Another big key for us was Olivia Yancy stepping up and scoring the way she did. The third key was that we did a great job down the stretch of closing the game out. Emma (Paul) and Shae (Clark) did a great job of wanting the basketball, and Emma converted at the free-throw line. It was a nice win for us, for sure.”

Coming off a big win, the River Hawks could have fallen into a trap against struggling Kiski Area, but they took care of business and won 41-25.

“Our section is so well-balanced in terms of talent that we think anyone can beat anyone on any given night,” Lorigan said. “Because of that, we really just went about our business as we prepared for Kiski. Our girls know that Kiski plays so hard and their program is getting more and more competitive each season, so we went in and stuck with our preparation and planning.”

Armstrong’s roster features some key seniors and juniors sharing time with talented sophomores and freshmen.

“We have a great mix of players not only with age but with experience. We returned four starters in Shae Clark (senior), Liv Yancy (sophomore), Layne Miller and Liv Pawk (juniors), and our bench is filled with young talent. We also have great senior leadership that we get from all four of our seniors. Shae is undoubtedly our heartbeat, yet our other seniors, Quinn Miller, Lydia Lucas, and Sophia Dobransky lead by example and work hard to make this team the best it can be.

Armstrong ranks second in team defense behind Trinity in Class 5A.

“Working together as one with individual accountability to do what needs to be done,” Lorigan said. “We practice our defense a lot. We want teams to know it’s not going to be easy when we play. We have some standards defensively that we believe in. We contest every shot, we focus on not getting beat by 3s and we really try to limit our fouls.

“Shae is a fantastic on-the-ball defender, which really motivates our team. Layne Miller is an excellent defender as well. She generally gets the task of guarding the other team’s top scorer, and she continually comes through for us. We are really focused on being in the right places on defense and communicating with each other. When we are doing those things well, we know it keeps us in games.”

The next game for Armstrong is a big one against second-place Hampton (4-1, 8-2).

“Hampton is so well-balanced this year and much improved. We have a lot of respect for them and how they play. They present matchup problems because of their speed and length at some positions. They play so fast and are relentless for 32 minutes both on offense and defense, so we know we’re in for a battle come Monday.”

2021 Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Team of the Week:

Week 2 – Mohawk Warriors

Week 1 – Burgettstown Blue Devils