Late-season surge has Bethel Park girls excited about program’s future

By: Ray Fisher
Saturday, February 24, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Bethel Park’s girls basketball team ended its season in a most positive way — with six consecutive victories.

The Black Hawks fell a game short, however, of qualifying for the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs.

“We played a really competitive schedule (against) some of the 5A teams,” coach Steve Norman said. “I think you can see the benefit of that in how we finished — 6-0 was a great way to go out even if it didn’t lead to playoffs. Our field goal percentage was about 50 in five of those games. We had a different girl leading us in scoring on any given night. It was definitely a team that played with and for each other.”

The Black Hawks finished with a 5-7 record in Section 2 and 10-12 overall in Norman’s first season at the helm. He formerly was an assistant at Baldwin for three years and Shaler for two.

“We have a senior class that provided such consistent performance and leadership. That’s always going to be tough to replace,” Norman said. “I couldn’t have asked for better people to help me start things off at Bethel. But we’ve got a big rising sophomore class that’s excited to compete at a varsity level and we’ve got four underclassmen that played key roles for us, so I’m confident we’re ready to pick up where left off next season.

“Some teams that don’t make playoffs are ready to move onto whatever comes next. I think our team is already looking forward to getting back in the gym. I’m just excited about the state of the program. We have a big eighth grade class coming up and just overall a team ready to compete and play hard.”

The Black Hawks’ starting lineup in 2023-24 consisted of seniors Rebecca Gillenberger, a 5-foot-11 center, Ella Harmon, a 5-10 forward, and Julia Benlock, a 5-9 guard, along with juniors Ella Sabatos, a 6-foot forward, and Sadie Orie, a 5-7 guard.

“Ella Sabatos finished the season averaging a double-double with points and rebounds,” Norman said. “Ella is a very versatile player, not at all confined to the post. While we still focus on being a team with five options to score, Ella brings a wealth of experience as a four-year varsity player and the poise that comes with that experience. We’ll look for her to be a factor in all facets of the game. She’s a great decision-maker, she works incredibly hard as a defender and a rebounder and she’s unselfish on offense. Ella will be a vocal leader on the team next year.”

Sabatos averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds per game this season.

“I think we did a great job this year playing team basketball,” Sabatos said. “We had different leading scorers every night and we all stepped up in our own ways. After getting a new coach this year and not many of us having much varsity experience, I think we were really successful.

“Obviously, our season did not start how we wanted it to, but we ended on a winning streak and pushed back from those losses. I am so proud of my team and how hard we all worked to make this season successful.”

Sabatos brings a certain level of “smarts” to the gym. She has a 4.15 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. She also is a Best Buddies board member.

She already is looking forward to working with all the underclassmen in the program next year.

“While it may be tough to replace our three senior starters, we have many talented younger players,” Sabatos said. “This is a great opportunity for them to step up and show their talent. Now that we are not dealing with learning a new coach, our summer and fall will be more dedicated to making us all better for the start of the season.

“With a busy summer of travel for AAU basketball, I am excited to see what the next high school season brings for Bethel Park.”

Orie tossed in 14 points and averaged four assists per game this season.

“Sadie was really good in distributing the ball once opponents tried to lock her down on offense,” Norman said. “She’s able to score at all three levels and we’ll need for her to be versatile next year.

“Losing three players that all led us in scoring on multiple nights, Sadie’s definitely going to need to have her finger on the pulse of the offense next year and help create opportunities for herself and her teammates.”

Orie, who also competes in track in the spring, is another player who offers a high-IQ effort in the gym with a 4.4 GPA.

“I thought our overall performance went well throughout the season. We just came up short a couple of games and didn’t start playing how we should’ve until the second half of the season,” Orie said. “We honestly tried our best. I really believe we did. We just unfortunately came together too late. I’m hopeful for a more successful season next year especially because we gained a year (of experience).

“I’m expecting us to make playoffs next year, especially because we have more experience with our new coach and style,” Orie said. “Unfortunately, we’re losing three starters, but we have some underclassmen that should fill their roles well.”

Leading reserves this year included sophomore guard Kat Boff and freshmen A.J. Elphinstone in the frontcourt and Gabby Labate and Avery Bonacci in the backcourt.

The Bethel Park girls finished behind Peters Township (11-1), Chartiers Valley (7-5), Mt. Lebanon (7-5) and Upper St. Clair (6-6) in the section standings, and ahead of Canon-McMillan (4-8) and Baldwin (2-10).

The Black Hawks averaged 52.1 ppg while allowing 47.6 ppg.

“We were one of five teams in 6A to finish the regular season with a positive PF/PA ratio,” Norman said. “We also went from averaging 55 points against in the first half of section play to 45 in the second half.

“We got off a slow start, but we finished playing great basketball.”

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