Trib HSSN girls basketball team of the week for Feb. 12, 2023

By: Don Rebel
Monday, February 13, 2023 | 10:56 PM

There was a point during the regular season that the logjam atop Section 2-3A had little to no separation.

Avonworth, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Keystone Oaks were fighting for a section crown with little room for error on game night.

However, following a Jan. 9 loss to KO, the Antelopes started delivering knockout punch after knockout punch until they wrapped up the regular season with a section title and eight consecutive victories.

“We didn’t shoot well that night,” Avonworth first-year coach Nick Dizon said. “It was a three-way tie for first, so we knew if we dropped any games, you’re probably not going to win the section outright and you might not even share it. So we knew we had to focus on the next game. Learn from the KO game and just focus on the next one.”

A week after huge section wins over OLSH and Keystone Oaks, Avonworth began last week with a home victory over East Allegheny.

“We understood, if we don’t play our game, they can come in and beat us,” Dizon said. “If we do all the right things, if we play together and stay tight as a group, when the adversity hits, if we handle that, we can win those games.”

There was little adversity for the Lady ‘Lopes against the Wildcats. Avonworth jumped out to an 18-2 lead after one quarter and cruised to victory over EA, 57-23.

Sophomore Greta O’Brien had a game-high 10 points for the Antelopes.

The challenge was a lot stiffer Thursday as Avonworth traveled to Seton LaSalle with a chance to clinch the section championship outright in the section finale.

The second half was back and forth after the Antelopes jumped out to a 20-8 lead after one quarter, only to be outscored 16-5 in the second quarter by the Rebels.

With the game tied after regulation, Avonworth outscored Seton LaSalle 10-8 in overtime to prevail, 54-52, improving their record to 15-5.

Sophomore Anna Bradley’s layup with 17 seconds left turned out to be the difference for the red and white.

O’Brien had a game-high 25 points while junior Becca Goetz added 17 points for the Antelopes.

“It was a war. It was a crazy game,” Dizon said. “I thought our girls showed a lot of toughness and stayed together when the adversity hit. They were able to find a way to get a tough one on the road. Section road games are tough, especially teams like Seton, where it’s a rough place to play.”

Dizon is in his first year of taking over the tradition-rich program at Avonworth. He took the head coaching job just when it looked like he would be coaching college hoops at Penn State-Greater Allegheny.

He credits his knowledge of the players for helping in the learning curve.

“There are certain drills you do no matter what team you are coaching,” he said. “I had to remember at the beginning that they might not know these drills. For me as a coach, it’s important to look at what you have. I work in the district and had watched games before and knew some of the things they did last year. I’ve tried to figure out how to tailor my style of play to what they want to do.”

Avonworth ended up with the No. 4 seed in the Class 3A playoffs, hosting McGuffey (15-7) at noon Saturday.

“I’m really into this (playoff) stuff, maybe spending more time looking into this stuff than I should,” Dizon said with a laugh. “I want to do what I can to help my team be ready. My whole thing is I want to do my best to have us prepared. If it’s a little extra work that may or may not pay off, that’s fine.”

Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Teams of the Week:

Week 5 – Armstrong River Hawks

Week 4 – North Allegheny Tigers

Week 3 – Oakland Catholic Eagles

Week 2 – Blackhawk Cougars

Week 1 – Shady Side Academy Bulldogs

Tags: Avonworth