Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Player of the Week for week ending March 7, 2021

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, March 7, 2021 | 7:53 PM

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In a program with the greatest girls basketball tradition in the WPIAL and the past four district titles, being expected to help bring the school its 20th championship could be a bit intimidating for a freshman.

Somebody must have forgotten to tell that to Alayna Rocco.

The 5-foot-10 freshman has been the leading scorer in North Catholic’s first two postseason games.

“I think Alayna has just become more comfortable in her role on her team and playing with her teammates,” North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann said. “With the craziness of covid and stops and starts, our team did not get a lot of time together in the offseason and preseason, and we had a brand-new group with none of them playing as a team together before. I think she has become more comfortable and understands our expectations of her on the court both on the offensive and defensive end. I feel like she plays with a great deal of confidence in herself and her teammates.”

Rocco made her postseason debut Wednesday as Class 4A top seed North Catholic crushed Brownsville, 78-31.

“I was impressed by Alayna’s poise in her first-ever WPIAL playoff game,” Rottmann said. “Alayna was not rattled at all and played an all-around complete game.”

The freshman led the Trojans with 18 points.

In the quarterfinals Saturday, North Catholic cruised to a 69-49 triumph over Freedom thanks to another big game by Rocco, who led all scorers with 30 points.

“It was huge for us,” Rottmann said. “We faced a lot of pressure out front, so it was great to be able to beat the pressure over the top and have Alayna finish. Alayna also helped push the pace as well on the fast break. She hit on 5 of 7 3-pointers, which was key as Freedom was sitting in a zone. It helped extend the zone and give scoring opportunities inside. It was a hotly contested game with a lot of rowdy fans, so to be able to keep your composure and help your team in that capacity as a freshman was impressive.”

Part of the Trojans’ success comes from a coaching staff that has high demands.

“Alayna has been asked from the beginning of the season to fill a big role, along with our other young players, as we graduated nine seniors last year,” Rottmann said. “Her role has expanded in the sense of we are now asking her to play a variety of positions as she has become more familiar with what we are doing offensively and defensively. Due to her size and versatile skill set, Alayna is able to be used in a variety of ways.”

Rottmann believes Rocco’s success early in her scholastic career can be attributed to being very skilled and hard to defend.

“Alayna has the ability to beat the defender off of the dribble but also has a great outside shot, making her extremely difficult to defend. Alayna also has good court vision, finding her teammates when she draws the help defense. Alayna’s ability to defend has been a great asset, as well, and her size gives us the ability to play her on a variety of players in different positions.”

While Rocco has accomplished a lot, she still is working to improve all aspects of her game.

“She is a true gym rat,” Rottmann said. “We are asking her to continue to develop her leadership and to be more vocal on the court defensively.”

Rocco and the Trojans will continue to strive for five Wednesday when they face fellow Section 1-4A foe Laurel in a WPIAL semifinal.

“We are very excited to have made it this far,” Rottmann said. “This season has certainly been an unexpected surprise and a lot of fun with this group. We know that we will have our hands full with a very talented and well-coached Laurel team. They have a variety of weapons and will throw different things at us defensively that we will need to be prepared for.”

2021 Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Players of the Week:

Week 7 — Emma Seto, Brownsville

Week 6 — Taylor Jackson, Clairton

Week 5 — Aayanni Hudson, New Castle

Week 4 — Bryn Bezjak, Albert Gallatin

Week 3 — Mallory Daly, Brentwood

Week 2 — Olivia Westphal, Bethel Park

Week 1 — Ashleigh Connor, Mt. Lebanon

Tags: North Catholic