Gateway girls get better of Mars in key Section 2-5A clash

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 | 12:24 AM

First it was snow. Then it was pouring rain, ice and snow again. A winter storm rolled through Western Pennsylvania. this past weekend and laid down a potpourri of precipitation. Problem is, the Mars girls basketball team is still stuck in the ice.

The Planets showed up at Gateway on Monday night for a crucial Section 2-5A showdown and were every bit as frigid as the outside temperature. The defending WPIAL Class 5A girls champion Gators showed up hot on their home floor.

Backed by junior Lexi Jackson’s game-high 16-point, 23-rebound performance coupled with an aggressive defensive scheme, Gateway was able to put away defending PIAA Class 5A champion Mars, 48-39, and give itself a two-game cushion in the section standings.

“It’s a big win for us,” Gateway coach Curtis Williams said. “Playing the defending state champions, we knew we had to play harder. I think it was an eye-opening experience when we played them at Mars, and they beat us that night.”

Gateway (13-3, 7-1), which is ranked No. 4 in the latest TribHSSN girls basketball rankings, sits atop the Section 2-5A standings, and Mars (11-4, 5-3) slipped into a third-place tie with Armstrong (9-6, 5-3). Franklin Regional (9-4, 5-2) is in second place with a half-game lead going into Tuesday’s game against section rival Plum (7-8, 3-3).

“This is what we’ve been going through these last four or five games,” Mars coach Dana Petruska said. “We need to make some changes. Our defense is pretty good. We’ll be OK, and stuff like this happens.”

The Planets recent struggles were also evident against Gateway. Shots, no matter how open, just weren’t falling. Gateway senior Jenna Guido drilled a 3-pointer to start the game, which ignited an 11-0 run that lasted all the way to the 23-second mark of the first quarter.

Sophomore Ellie Coffield helped Marsput Mars on the scoreboard when she connected on a short jumper off the glass to close out the opening quarter with the Planets trailing 13-2. Coffield finished the night with a team-high 11 points.

“The game plan going in was to make sure that the shots they hit were contested shots,” Williams said. “We felt that if we could not let them get going and not let them have so many easy looks at threes, we’d have a shot at winning.”

Gateway had its own struggles in the second quarter. Some sloppy transition play and rushed shots helped keep the Planets in the game. Sophomore forward Dynasty Shegog banked in a smooth turnaround jumper off the glass and freshman Alexis Margolis drilled a 3-pointer to give the Gators a commanding 18-2 lead with 5:31 left in the first half.

Coffield added a layup off a steal then connected on a 3-pointer the next trip down the floor to cut into the Gators lead at 18-7. Mars freshman Ava Black added another 3-pointer from the left corner just before the half to send the Planets into the locker feeling lucky that they were only trailing 20-10.

“I start two freshman and a sophomore, and they’re looking for the upperclassmen to lead,” Petruska said.

Gateway started the second half on a 9-2 run. Senior Mary Kromka drilled a 3-pointer and Shegog added back-to-back buckets to extend the Gateway lead to 29-12.

Mars’ junior Bella Pelaia connected on a 3-pointer, sophomore Alek Johnson added another and Black dropped 3 to spark the Mars offense and cut into the Gateway lead at 37-24 after three quarters.

The one thing that was absent for the Planets during the first half was their leading scorer in senior Tai Johnson, who was held scoreless through the first three quarters. Johnson’s first points of the game came on two free throws; she connected on a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.

“They’re 2-3 zone (defense) is as active as active can be because they’re long,” Petruska said.

Mars had one more run midway through the fourth quarter when Coffield banged in a long jumper from just inside the 3-point line and came back don the floor for an easy layup off a Johnson steal to close to within five points at 37-32. Kromka took over late in the game and scored six of her 14 points in the final 4 minutes to help put the game away for the Gators.

“It was good for us to play a tough opponent and match their intensity and their skill, ” Williams said. “In the section, we have a little bit of a cushion but we need. It’s a tough section.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Gateway, Mars