A-K Valley notebook: Springdale girls break losing skid, Plum freshman stands out

By: Alec Italiano
Thursday, December 28, 2017 | 11:59 PM

John Broderick heard plenty of kudos from referees and fans about the improvement the Springdale girls basketball team showed during the early portion of the season.

As good as that made the Dynamos' coach feel, it had nothing on Wednesday night, when Springdale snapped a 24-game losing streak with a 47-28 victory over Yough in the consolation game of Valley's holiday tournament.

“The kids have worked hard,” Broderick said. “They worked hard last year, even though we didn't win any games. And we were getting some similar comments this year from officials and from spectators about how hard the girls were working, and that's great. That's really what you're looking for.

“But man, it's really nice to finally get a win, too. That working hard stuff is really super, but it's really nice to look up on the scoreboard and see you have more points than the other team.”

Springdale's last victory came in the 2015-16 regular-season finale against Northgate, a 52-23 win. The Dynamos went 0-17 last season and started this campaign with seven consecutive losses.

But signs of progress showed even before the win Wednesday. Springdale fields a roster of 12 players, a big jump from the seven or eight Broderick had at his disposal last season, when he had to do lunchtime recruiting after insufficient player numbers forced the Dynamos to forfeit games in the early portion of their schedule.

Junior Jazlynn Robb, a transfer from Texas, is leading Springdale in scoring and tallied 25 points against Yough. Becca Selzer, a key player from last season's team who recently rejoined the roster, added 15.

“Once you get more numbers, as a coaching staff it gives you more things you can try to do,” Broderick said. “Really, that's what we're starting to do. We're thankful for those numbers, and there's some pretty decent players in those numbers.”

Fine nine

Plum's Kennedie Montue became the latest Alle-Kiski Valley freshman to stand out this basketball season with a 29-point performance in the Mustangs' 49-41 victory over Penn-Trafford on Wednesday at the Penn-Trafford tournament.

Montue's career night lifted Plum to its first victory of the season, but she isn't the only ninth-grader to hit the ground running this season.

St. Joseph's Andrew Sullivan scored 23 points in the season opener and is one of the Spartans' go-to scorers. And Dylan Cook, playing key minutes for Leechburg, had a double-double with 10 points and 12 assists against St. Joseph.

Powerade seeds out

Four Kiski Area wrestlers earned top-eight seeds for this weekend's Powerade Tournament at Canon-McMillan.

Junior Darren Miller (120 pounds) and senior Noah Levett (138), both returning medalists, were slotted fourth in their respective weight classes. Junior Cam Connor was seeded sixth at 145, and senior Danny Starr was seeded eighth at 195.

Burrell sophomore Trent Valovchik was seeded seventh at 106 pounds.

WCCA tournament set

The annual Westmoreland County Coaches Association wrestling championships will take place Jan. 5 and 6 at Norwin.

Kiski Area won the team title in 2017 for the second consecutive season as Darren Miller, Danny Starr and Isaac Reid won individual championships, and all 11 other Cavaliers competitors earned medals. Miller and Starr will return to defend their titles, while Reid remains out with a pulmonary embolism.

Burrell and Valley also will compete at the WCCA tournament. Corey Christie returns for Burrell after placing a team-best third last season, while David Schuffert comes back for Valley after taking third last season.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

Tags: Kiski School, Plum, Springdale, St. Joseph